Lost in His Memories
by BlueChouLyla
Summary: Inuyasha's group defeats Naraku, and Kagome purifies the Shikon no Tama. But the power taken to purify the jewel is much more then she could handle, and she passes out, to wake in an unknown place… In her own time.
1. Wakening

Hello everyone!

So, this is a story that has been stewing in my brain for more than three years (I started writing it around the time I started writing "It's an Oracle's Life", only this one I managed to continue writing) it's a short chaptered fic, but don't worry! This one will not leave you hanging without an ending!

I plan to update once a week or so, so stay tuned.

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, or any of it's charaters.

And with that said – on with the story!

* * *

**Lost in His Memories, Ch 1.**

A spark of recognition among the eternal sea of blackness pulled at her, two familiar voices conversing. She was lying on a bed, a blanket covering her, but not giving her the warmth she needed – her hands were freezing. She didn't care. She wanted to go back to the darkness, where she could just forget about everything that happened when she first woke up. Forgetting was apparently the path she had taken, and she saw no reason not to continue with it. She did not want to remember, could not remember, though memories flooded her anyway. Memories of the first time she had awoken to find out she had no memories at all.

_Her eyes fluttered open to an unknown room which, after a few glances around, she surmised was a hospital room. There were two people in the room, talking to each other, not looking at her. She must have made a sound because they were suddenly quiet, and into her vision came the loving, smiling face she had known for all her life. "Mama," she whispered weakly, and the woman's smile deepened, her eyes glistening with tears she had yet to shed. _

"_Kagome, we were so worried about you! When Inuyasha showed up, carrying you, I thought…" Kagome's mother paused, letting her tears finish the sentence for her. Kagome was still digesting the information, though not much, that she had just received._

"_Inu…yasha?" she asked, the word so familiar on her mouth, yet so strange and foreign. "Who… who is—" she tried to ask, but was stopped by her mother's gasp. _

"_You… you don't remember him?" _

_Kagome frowned. Try as she would, she could not remember anything concerning a man called Inuyasha. She didn't even know it was indeed a man until her mother said so._

"_What is the last thing you remember?" That question came from the frowning man her mother was talking to. She didn't know who he was, but from his clothes she gathered that he was a doctor, which meant that she was right. She was in a hospital._

"_The party you've thrown to me on the night before my fifteenth birthday," Kagome replied, smiling weakly at her mother as she remembered, not prepared for another gasp, nor for what came next._

"_Kagome… that was three years ago."  
_

_

* * *

_

That first time had been at least seven days ago. She knew that, because the nurses seemed intent that she would not sleep for more then ten hours straight. They would always come in, whistling to themselves or talking to her, making so much noise as they moved around and did whatever it was nurses did. If it was up to her, she would not have been awake at all. Just thinking about it – three years forgotten completely – was enough to make her stomach twist. She couldn't help but think of what had happened during those three years – and that always caused a major headache. All in all, sleeping was the best solution to her problem she could find.

The mention of her name, however, drew her to full consciousness.

"Kagome does not remember a thing about her travels with Inuyasha," her mother's voice stated. "I think it is best to leave it like that."

"Are you sure?" that was Kagome's grandfather.

"There has to be a reason why she has forgotten… her doctor seems to think it is her minds way of dealing with some traumatic experience – she just shut away everything that could remind her of it."

"Hmm," was her grandfather's response.

"You know how stubborn Kagome is. If she found out, she'll want to go back, and… I don't want her to be hurt again."

"Alright," her grandfather agreed. "It is like the story about the hime and the—"

Kagome groaned. Her grandfather was always like that, telling stories that in no way could have really happened. He actually believed that demons existed in the feudal era!

Blinking as she realized they had stopped talking, she turned her head to see their worried faces looking at her.

"Are you alright, Kagome?" her mother asked.

"Yeah," she answered, and decided to go for it. "Mama… who is Inuyasha?"

"Inuyasha is… he was a friend of yours, Kagome, you used to spend a lot of time together." Her mother smiled as she answered, but Kagome knew she was hiding something from her. _'What does she mean 'was a friend'? _Eri, Yuka and Ayumi were her friends, and she had no trouble remembering them. Houjo-kun was also a friend, and she remembered him. Why couldn't she remember that Inuyasha guy? And what did Mama mean by 'go back'?'

"You're not going to tell me, are you?" Kagome asked sullenly, not looking at her mother. After a few minutes with no response, she added a whisper. "Why?"

She got no answer to that question either, not until the nurse came in to tell them that visiting hours were over, and Kagome's mother was hugging her goodbye, Kagome herself never taking her eyes of a certain spot on the ceiling.

"I only want your best, Kagome."

And then she was alone, and with no reason to hold her tears anymore, she cried herself to sleep.

* * *

Kagome did not mention again that name, nor did she try to inquire as to what happened in those last three years. At least, not to her mother. She had already decided on a course of action. Her mother might say that she wanted her best, but could she not see how impossible it was for her to live with that hole in her memories?

She had learnt other things, however. Her last memory was from two and a half years ago, not three. Close enough, though. She had spent almost a month in the hospital unconscious before waking up for the first time. Some of the doctors were surprised that she did. Most of them, in fact. It would take a while for her to be able to go home. It was summer now, but she figured that by the time she was released school year would begin again. Her last school year. She wondered how she would be able to get through it. She didn't remember a thing she learnt the past three years in school – would they make her go through them again? It would be embarrassing, to say the least. She wanted to finish school along with her friends. And so she decided to use the time she was spending at the hospital to study. She asked for Houjo's help whenever he came by, as she did when her friends, Eri, Yuka and Ayumi dropped for visit. It was not much, but slowly, she realized that there might be a way for her to pass through her last year of school.

She stayed in the hospital for three weeks – besides the month unconscious – three very long weeks. She was released home a few days before school started, so she would have time to adjust herself. Her house was just like she remembered… with a few changes. A different TV, for example. Clothes she didn't remember having in her closet. She expected that. What she didn't expect was having the shrine around the old well all locked up. She had never been inside, but it was always open, never locked.

Sighing, she turned away from the window, away from the shrine, and walked into the kitchen where her mother was cooking dinner.

"Kagome! Come, sit, dinner's almost ready. I made Oden, just for you." Her mother said with a smile. Kagome returned her smile, but even Oden did not excite her as much as it usually did. She wanted to know what her mother was hiding from her. She deserved to know.

"Would you mind setting the table, Kagome?"

Kagome shook her head, taking four plates out of the cupboard. It seemed like everything was back to normal, but how can anything be normal when she's walking around with a hole in her memories?

* * *

"Yes, Eri, I'll meet you and the rest at Wacdonalds after school. Don't worry," she tried assuring her friend, though Eri could probably tell her heart wasn't in it. It's not that she didn't like meeting with her friends, it's just that she felt as if that time could be put to better use – as in, researching more about her past.

Only, she had no idea where to look, or even what to begin with. She figured meeting with her friends would be better than agonizing over doing nothing.

Stopping the lolling of her pen over today's newspaper for a minute, Kagome had to work hard at not letting any tears surface at the next words coming through the phone.

"Yes, Eri, I remember the way. I still have most of my memories, remember?" that was one of the things she hated most. She knew her friends cared for her and wanted only the best, and yet, she couldn't help but feel as if they were trying to remind her of her memory problems on purpose.

"It's ok, don't worry about it. I'll see you tomorrow. Night!"

Kagome put down the phone, looking at the newspaper and blinking. On the front page was a picture of some businessman or another, but that was not the cause of her repeated blinks. The cause was what she had drawn on his picture, while on the phone, and not really looking. Now, the man had a crescent moon on his forehead, just between his brows, and two stripes, ending in a point, on each cheek. The man had also sported some sort of fluffy thing on his right shoulder, and some evil-looking spikes on his left. She did not recognize him, nor did she recognize her reasons behind the new look she had given him, but she did not dwell on them for long. It was late, and she was tired, and that was probably the reason behind her doodle. Yawning, she got into her bed and fell asleep almost immediately, dreaming of silver and gold and red.

* * *

People were just stupid.

Of course, that went by definition, but he thought that the people from the Tokyo airport managed to reach new levels of idiocy. No, he was _sure_ about that.

First, his suitcases were delayed. A thing which was stupid enough as it is, since making him annoyed usually cost people their jobs. If not lives. He was one of the richest men in the world, and not to be dealt with lightly.

But it didn't end there, oh no. the driver that was supposed to wait for him came _late_, and in a filthy car.

Did they really think he would agree to be seen in a filthy limo? A limo stained by dust and careless birds?

Really, people were just stupid. That's the only answer he could find.

He had sent the driver back wherever it was he came from, and called another limo agency to pick him up. After all the waiting, all he really wanted to do was to get home – or to his hotel room, it was the same to him – and sleep. Or maybe go hunting. _Yes…hunting. That would be great._ Releasing some energy – both physical and demonic – would only do good for him, especially if he wanted to supervise over the establishment of his mother company's new headquarters.

'_Japan has changed over the years,_' was the first thought he had as he descended from the plane. Of course, he didn't expect it to remain as it was, so long ago, but he had never imagined Japan would become so… western.

He figured that there would be cars and traffic and trains and railroads and traffic lights and traffic signs and restaurants and malls and supermarkets and signs in Japanese and signs in English and people and – oh god so many people!

He knew that that was what he should have expected – but for some reason, he kept thinking Japan will be the same as _he_ knew it – 500 years ago, when demons flooded the land and human were scarce, when the land was green and clean and beautiful. Not gray and filthy and nose-gagging.

He was looking blankly through the window of the limousine, watching but not really seeing all that happened beyond it, thinking of changes, expected and unexpected. And then he blinked.

He managed to refrain himself from blinking again, as the sight in front of him registered through his brain. Four girls were walking down the street – that was a pretty normal occurrence. After all, girls were allowed to walk the streets, so it shouldn't befuddle him as much as it had – only, there was something about one of the girls that tickled his memory. But what made him think he knew that girl?

_'Promise me… if you'll ever see her again… promise me you'll protect Kagome.'_

His brother's last words. But why now, all of a sudden? He hadn't thought about Inuyasha for more than two hundred years. Why now?

And then the limo turned, and he got to see the face of the girl.

Now, he was – well, he was Sesshoumaru. And Sesshoumaru was never wrong. And he did have a pretty good memory – much better than a human's or even most youkai's.

This time, however, he _must_ have been wrong. There was simply no way that that girl could be the same girl who used to follow his brother all the time. All the time, 500 years in the past.

Then he noticed, for the first time, (since he was Sesshoumaru and Sesshoumaru did not pay attention to such trivialities) the clothes of the girls. He had, in fact, dismissed them as being simple school uniforms, but he should have learned long ago: nothing was simple when involving Inuyasha's miko.

There was no denying that this outfit was the same one the girl used to wear while traveling with his brother – or an outfit extremely similar – in an age where wearing such a thing was considered immodest at the very least, by humans and demons alike.

That had made him regret his earlier doubt, and also served to bring very disturbing thoughts to his mind. How did a human manage to survive over 500 years?

Smirking to himself, Sesshoumaru gave new instructions to his driver. He will satisfy his curiosity, and learn a little more about the enigma that was his brother's miko.

* * *

This is just the beginning, setting the ground for what's to come... still, I hope you enjoyed it so far. Tell me what you think!

~Lyla


	2. Miko Meets Demon

Well, what have we here? It's another chapter of Lost in His Memories!

Things should be getting much more interesting around now…

I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: nope, I don't own Inuyasha.

* * *

As she was walking with her friends back home from their meeting at Wacdonalds, Kagome was wondering for the hundredth time in less than a week, why did she bother at all. Why not just quit school and be done with all the trouble? She had been back for – what, 3 days? 4? – And she was already behind. Again. She thought she knew the material, only with so little time to study, her knowledge was very shallow. Hojou had already promised to help her some more, as did Eri, Yuka and Ayumi, but… she just had to wonder if it was worth it. She could get herself a job instead, help with the funding of the shrine… _yes, I could always get a job at a place like Wacdonalds, they are always in need for more employees and_— Kagome suddenly remembered an old woman she had once seen cleaning the tables in Wacdonalds when she was a kid. The woman looked so poor, her clothes wrinkled, her gray hair sticking out of her bun. And she had a big wart on her chin. As a child, Kagome was afraid of old women with warts. She thought they were witches from her grandfather's stories, those who steal your soul and make it do as their bidding. _OK, staying in school it is._

Since she was busy wondering, Kagome didn't notice her friends stopped until she bumped into Ayumi's shoulder. Ayumi didn't seem to care, though, as all three of her friends were staring at the black limo parking just in front of them. Or more likely, at the gorgeous man leaning against the limo, looking at her as if she was the most fascinating creature in the world, and smiling. She looked around, maybe there was a more fascinating creature behind her the man could be looking at. And smile. After all, gorgeous men who allowed themselves to lean on limos should not be looking at her like that. And smile. She was not a fascinating creature, she wasn't even interesting! She was just… Kagome Higurashi. And yet, there was no one. Just her and her three friends, who were currently as busy ogling the man as she was.

The man started walking towards them, his gaze still locked on Kagome's face, and she studied him as he moved. His hair was pure silver, the shade of his eyes was too light a brown to exist. He looked so familiar, but she could not tell from where. And something about his face was wrong.

His smile, she realized. For some reason, seeing him smiling was like seeing a someone kill a cute puppy. It was something that just should not happen.

"Hello, ladies." The man said as he was close enough. His voice held familiarity too, yet still, she could not place it. _Could it be I've known him before my memory decided to press 'delete'?_ She thought for a minute, but then, _no, no way. How would I know a gorgeous rich man who leans on limos for a past time?_ No, it had to be something else. Maybe she had seen him on the television sometime?

"I was wondering if you could help me," he continued. "My name is—" well, he _tried_ to continue. But Eri, Yuka and Ayumi had other thoughts in mind.

"We know who you are—"

"—Taisho Kiyoshi, one of the richest men in the world—"

"—probably the richest Japanese man—"

"—even though you weren't born, or grew up here—"

Kagome could just stare at her friends as sentence after sentence they told the entire life story of the man in front of them, while said man was just standing there, smirking.

"You said you needed help?" She asked, effectively shutting her friends' mouths and wiping the smirk off of his face. Apparently, he wasn't the type to ask for help, and didn't like being reminded that he needed it.

"Yes," he answered, his gaze locked on her face again. "I was told that there is an ancient tree in one of the shrines in Tokyo. It is said that this tree is magical. I would like to see it."

And there they went again.

"Are you talking about the Goshinboku?"

"—it's in the Higurashi Shrine—"

"—that's where Kagome lives—"

"—she could show you around—"

Sometimes Kagome had to doubt why she was friends with these three anyway. Really, to volunteer her like that, without even asking! Not that she wouldn't have agreed, but still, asking is nice, isn't it?

And _he_ was still looking at her, once again smiling, and that was the end of any coherent thought, other than the passing '_Oh my god!'_ every few minutes.

"Would you care to 'show me around', Miko san?" he asked her, not quite managing to hide his amusement in his deep voice.

"I-I would be honored." She answered him, bowing. "But I am not a Miko." His beautifully shaped eyebrow rose at that.

"Do you not live in a shrine? Does it not make you a Shrine Maiden?"

"I-I guess, but I don't have the training of one."

"That's a shame. I have heard many tales about the Japanese Priestesses. I would have liked to meet one."

"I am sorry, but I don't know any Miko. My grandfather might know, I could ask him for you if you want, Taisho san."

"That will not be necessary. But please, call me Kiyoshi."

"Hai, Kiyoshi san."

There was silence for few seconds, Kagome desperately trying to think of what to say, especially since Kiyoshi seemed to have no problems to just continue looking at her and smiling. She snuck a look at her three friends, as usually she could count on them to never shut up, but just this one time she actually wanted them to talk, they were looking at her with awe, as if she had just sprouted a third arm, and more importantly – with their mouth firmly shut (well, all except for Yuka, who had her mouth slightly opened, but Kagome doubted she could actually make sounds come out of it at that moment).

"Well, Kiyoshi san, do you want to go to the shrine now or should I give you the address and you'd come back when it's more comfortable?"

"Now, I think, would be best." He answered. "We will use my car."

Kagome nodded slowly, and Kiyoshi turned without a second glance back towards his limo she started to follow, but after two steps she realized her friends weren't following. She stopped, looking back at them. They were still wearing the same ogling expression (and Yuka still had her mouth slightly opened), though Eri apparently recovered enough to wave her hand at Kagome, telling her to follow him and stop dawdling, for god's sake.

So she went. Alone. Inside a limo with a strange man she had never met before. Alone. And yet, all she could think about was _God, this limo is BIG._

"Where to, Taisho Sama?" the driver asked Kiyoshi, and the silver haired man turned his head, and, for the first time since she agreed to show him the Goshinboku, he looked at her, as if telling her _go ahead_, and _be quick about it, worthless ningen._

Kagome blinked.

Where did that last thought come from? And why would he call her 'worthless ningen'? He was human too! It made no sense. Unless he was a Youkai, of course. _Then it would make a lot of sense. Entirely too much sense. But then, everyone knows Youkai never really existed_. (Somewhere far away from Tokyo, a low-level Youkai screams in pain as it dies.)

Another blink, and Kagome realized that now both Kiyoshi and the driver were looking at her, even though the driver couldn't master even quarter of the look Kiyoshi had on his face as he waited for her. She blushed and muttered apologies before giving her address.

The rest of the way there, short as it was, went without any other conversations, even though Kiyoshi once or twice looked like he wanted to ask her something. Although, she probably had imagined that, as his face remained the same the entire journey. Well, except for those two times, and Kagome was slowly convinced that it was her mind playing tricks on her.

The shrine was quiet as they arrived, since Kagome's mother took Souta to his soccer practice, and her grandfather was with his friends, playing bridge and exchanging frightening stories of Youkai and Oni. Kagome knew that, as her mother told her all about it this morning. She actually was looking forward to having the house to herself, but it's not like she could actually say no to a stunning rich man who was interested in her shrine.

"Come through here, the Goshinboku is this way." She told him as she got out of his car. She started walking towards it, with Kiyoshi following her.

The Goshinboku tree stood magnificent as ever, its huge leaves dancing softly with the wind. Kagome stopped walking when she was near the white fence surrounding the magical tree, but Kiyoshi continued until he could actually touch the tree. And touch it he did. He touched the one place where the Goshinboku bark was scarred, an unnatural nick that Kagome knew had to be made with something sharp.

Kiyoshi looked at the tree for few more minutes, then turned back to her, and she could've sworn she heard him mutter something along the lines of "foolish hanyou", but that made no sense. Hanyou did not exist anymore than youkai did. She had probably just imagined it.

"Would you like some tea?" she offered. "Or maybe coffee?"

He nodded. "Tea, please." And so she led him into the house, hoping he wouldn't notice some shabby furniture. After all, he was rich, and more likely than not used to the best, and while the tending of a shrine earns more than a little money, it is just enough for a family of four.

She motioned for him to sit in the living room while she made the tea, but he had decided to follow her instead. Sitting himself at the counter, looking at the pile of newspapers on it, while she put water in the teapot, he was silent, looking lost in his own world, and Kagome wondered whether she should let him come back on his own, or help him back.

"Kiyoshi san?" she asked gently as she brought him his tea. She took a small sip from hers, than tried again, "Kiyoshi san?"

This time, he seemed to have heard her, since he stiffened, and his eyes, looking more yellow than brown in this light, focused on her.

"Miko," he started, and she almost jumped at the sound of his voice, so arrogant and cold and detached and… familiar. "How come you are here?"

"Eh?" was the intelligent reply, coupled with a blink or two.

"How come you are here?" he insisted.

"What are you talking about? I was born here. And I am not a miko!"

His eyes narrowed. "You were born here? Than how did you manage to go_ there_?"

Kagome let herself blink again. He was really good at confusing the hell out of her. "Go there? There where?"

"Miko…" he growled! Kagome was sure of it. That weird sound could be nothing else. "Don't play dumb with me, you prove nothing. Now, tell me: why are you not dead?"

This had gone far enough for Kagome.

"Excuse me? Look, mister. I don't know who you think you are, to come into my house and ask questions like that, but—"

"You don't recognize me, Miko?"

"No, I don't! And I am not a miko, for the thousandth time!"

"So you don't recognize me," he said calmly, completely oblivious to the fact that she was practically seething with anger. He moved his hand from where she was sitting on top of the newspaper pile, grabbing one with it. Kagome blushed, looking at what he was showing her. It was that picture of him that she had doodled on the night before.

"It would seem that at least your subconscious recognize me, Miko," he said, amusement clear in his voice. Kagome blushed harder, but this time her face was red with anger as much as embarrassment.

"That's it! I'm sick of it. Get out. Now."

He smirked, and she got up and opened the door. "Well?"

"Hey, 'neechan! Thanks for holding the door!" Kagome looked down at her little brother, her anger disappearing, giving place to surprise. _'Why is Souta here? Shouldn't he be at soccer practice?'_

Souta, after throwing his back on the floor near the door, finally seemed to notice that there was another person in the house, but his reaction was not what she – or Kiyoshi – expected.

"Inu-no-niichan?" there was wonder in the little boy's voice, and he looked at Kiyoshi admiringly. Kagome watched, unable to make a sound, as Kiyoshi's eyebrows rose, and he shook his head.

"You're not Inu-no-niichan? But you look just like him!"

"Who is this Inu-no-niichan of yours?" Kiyoshi asked.

"Inuyasha," Souta started answering. "He was…" and then he remembered who else was in the room. "Nevermind." He said, doing his best not to look at his sister.

"You knew Inuyasha?" Kiyoshi asked, disbelief clear in his voice.

"Um, yeah. You know him too?" Kiyoshi nodded, his eyes focusing on the boy in front of him, just as the boy's eyes were on him, neither boy nor man noticing the paleness that dropped upon the third and last occupant of the room.

"He was my brother." There were two small gasps, and one big thud, and Souta and Kiyoshi turned to look at Kagome's form sprawled on the floor.

* * *

So… how was it? Tell me what you think!

~Lyla


	3. Dreams Are Always What They Seem

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. 

* * *

"Nee-chan!" Sesshoumaru watched the young boy scramble over to the fallen figure of his sister. "Are you ok?" he asked, foolishly – as if his sister could answer from her unconscious state.

"She is well," he reassured the boy, not quite sure what made him do so. "She has merely fainted."

'_But why? And why did she insist that she did not know me – even though the boy obviously knew my brother? And for that matter – how _did_ the boy know about Inuyasha?'_

"We should, umm…" the boy started. "We should probably put her on the sofa or something, so she'll be comfortable when she wakes..." he ended with a whisper, looking at Sesshoumaru the whole time. Of course, the boy couldn't move her on his own. Sesshoumaru had to restrain himself from sighing.

Once the miko was comfortably situated on the sofa, Sesshoumaru turned to look at the boy, who had seated himself on the carpet near his sister. Now, it was time that he got some questions answered.

* * *

Kagome blinked, not sure that what she was seeing was true. There was Kiyoshi, with the markings and the white fluffy thing she drew on his picture, complete with a white gi, a blue and yellow obi, and two swords.

Obviously, one isn't enough.

He was talking to some man made of red and silver, and though his figure was blurred, the colors left a strong impact on the woman. _'I know him. But… who is he?'_

The red man said something she did not hear, and Kyoshi responded. "So she used to travel through time. That would explain her accent and strange outfit."

The red man said another thing which Kagome could not hear, though, as before, she did manage to hear Kyoshi's answer. "The Bone-Eater's Well? Yes, I remember that well."

For the third time the red man spoke, and for the third time she could only hear Kyoshi's response. "She has no memory of it at all? Well, that would explain…" he paused, seeming to ponder this new information. "Her story certainly is a sad one," he concluded, and she blinked again, but when she opened her eyes, it was her grandfather who sat in Kyoshi's place, wearing that strange outfit the business man had worn but a minute ago.

"This is like the story of the Priestess and the Hanyou-" Kagome groaned, an instinct reaction to her jii-chan's stories.

"I think she's coming to!" that was Souta's voice, though the only ones she could see were the blurred figure of the red man, and her grandfather – who, she had to say, looked utterly ridiculous, even though she could not say the same for Kiyoshi. Her grandfather was still telling his story, not pausing to notice he had no listeners – just like he always did. She groaned again.

"Please!" she heard Souta's voice again, barely audible with Jii-chan's droning. "Mama doesn't want her to know what happened. Please don't tell her!" she wondered, for a minute, who he was talking to, but she couldn't concentrate with jii-chan's story in the back.

"And so he told her to forget about him, to move on with her life. And when he left, she saw on his back, through a tear in his outfit, the tattoo of a spider – the symbol of their enemy, and she knew what he would do, and although she tried, she could not stop him.

"When the Miko awoke the next morning, she forgot all about him, just as he asked her. But she could not move on…" her grandfather began disappearing, and she ran after him.

"Wait, jii-chan! What happened to the Miko?"

How could he do this to her? Finally a good story, an interesting one, and he leaves in the middle? That was not like him at all.

* * *

Kagome opened her eyes to see her brother talking to a stranger in the living room. She blinked a few times before remembering; his name was Kiyoshi Taisho, and he said he was Inuyasha's brother, the guy who supposedly was her boyfriend for the past three years. For the life of her, though, she could not remember who Inuyasha _was_, nor how he looked like. She supposed he looked a bit like his brother, but all she could remember was colors; red and silver and amber, mixing together without any sense.

She had probably made some noise, because they had stopped talking, and Kiyoshi walked over to her and murmured something that sounded like 'good morning', but would've made much more sense as 'you ningen are so frail,' before grabbing her wrist and counting.

"Your pulse is fine," he said finally, before giving her the victory sign. "How many fingers do you see?

Kagome blinked. "Um, two?" he nodded.

"Now, what is my name? Do you remember who I am?"

Kagome blinked again. What was the purpose in all that?

"You are Kiyoshi Taisho, and a pain in my ass."

As soon as she realized what she had said, she wanted to take it back. Covering her mouth with her hand, as if it could make the words disappear, she half expected him to glare at her before slicing her head of with just his hand.

To her surprise, though, he simply smirked at her before standing up.

"Well, it appears as if you are well." he said. "I will be taking my leave now."

Before she could blink again, he had grabbed his coat – _when did he take it off?_ – And left, closing the door behind him, ignoring her small cry of "wait!"

Getting up was not easy, but she went after him, ignoring the dizziness that flooded her.

"Kiyoshi san, please wait!" she called again, just as he was opening the door to a limo that waited outside. _A limo? That's right; we came here in one…_

He turned around, giving her a questioning look, and she ran over to him, only stopping when she reached the limo, still fighting the woozy feeling that wouldn't leave.

"You shouldn't be up so soon," he told her, and she shook her head, trying to catch her breath so she could talk.

"You know me, don't you?" she asked finally. "You knew about the Goshinboku, too. You know what has happened to me these past three years, don't you?"

He looked at her for a long while, as if trying to decide what answer to give, making her feel not unlike a worm facing a hungry bird.

"Some." He answered eventually. "Not everything."

That was more than enough for her. "Please," she practically begged. "Tell me. I don't remember anything, and nobody will tell me. All I know is that I had a boyfriend called Inuyasha – you brother."

This time his response took even longer. It was nerve wrecking.

"I cannot tell you," he replied, slowly. It felt like his answer had shattered every last bit of hope she still had to small, tiny shards and scattered them throughout the land, and she just _knew_ that recovering them would take _forever_. He was her last hope, her final connection to her forgotten past; her mother would not tell her anything, nor would her friends. And apparently, he wouldn't, either.

"Please," she asked him again, tears forming in her eyes. She was ready to grovel before him if needed.

"Telling you will not help you," he started, and continued before she could retort. "But, I am willing to help you remember. You always intrigued me, little Miko."

She was about to protest the name – she was no Miko, nor will she ever be – but then she realized just what he had said. He will help her.

"Thank you! Oh, thank you so much!" She still had tears in her eyes, but now they were tears of gratitude.

"When do you finish school tomorrow?" he asked. She told him, and he nodded. "I will pick you up then. Here's my card," he said, pulling said card out of his pocket and giving it to her. It was simply made, the name Taisho Kiyoshi written in ancient calligraphy style, and underneath a cell phone number.

"This is my private cell. Call me if you need anything."

He got into the limo then, she still murmuring words of gratitude, holding on to the card as if it was her salvation – and in a way, it was.

She continued staring at the limo until it turned around the corner and disappeared.

* * *

Inside the limo, Sesshoumaru was pondering this new turn of events. He still wasn't sure what had caused him to agree to help the girl. Maybe it was the desperation in her eyes, the feeling of helplessness she exuded. He didn't like seeing her like that, so different from the girl he remembered from five hundred years ago. Maybe it was just the fact that she was always a curiosity – ever since he had first met her, he wondered about her. She pulled out the Tessaiga, and survived his acid. She didn't make _sense_.

It didn't matter, though. He had promised he would help, and he would. He wondered how long until she remembered, and what will happen afterwards.

He smiled to himself. Finally, something interesting was going on.

* * *

Kagome walked back to the house, Kiyoshi's words echoing in her mind. '_I am willing to help you remember'_. She was doing the right thing, she knew. Even though her mother wouldn't agree, she knew she was. The burden of the hole in her memories was too much for her to bear. '_You always intrigued me, little Miko'_.

Kagome paused at the door. He _knew_ her, probably more than she knew herself. And he kept calling her a Miko, despite her incessant insistence that she wasn't. Could it be that _she_ was wrong? That she _had_ been a Miko?

And if so, what else had he said that could indicate to her past?

Filled with a new purpose, she walked inside the house and straight to her room – but not before grabbing the newspaper she had doodled on. It was a clue, and she knew it.

* * *

Up in her room, Kagome took out an empty notebook she was saving for school. She always bought extra in the beginning of the school year, just in case. This notebook, however, would have a much more important purpose.

Thinking of the past few hours, she started writing in the notebook.

_Miko._ Was the first line.

_Here and there_. Was the second. _But where is there? From his questions, probably not somewhere easily accessible. Not a place you can get with a train or a car. Probably not even a plane. But where could it be that cannot be accessible with even a plane?_

She knew it made no sense, but she kept on. She'd write everything first, then figure out the connections. And then another thought hit her.

_He thought I was dead. Something must have happened to make him think so – what would that be?_

Next point was – what did he say next?

_He said I didn't recognize him, and then that I did._

She looked at the doodle again, before cutting it from the newspaper and pasting it in the notebook.

_Why would I think that he would look like that?_ Was the next point she had written, just below the picture.

There were a lot of questions, and she wasn't even close to finish. But she didn't mind – if she knew the right questions to ask, she would find the answers. Eventually.

She went back to their conversation. Right after that Souta came in, and called him Inu-no-niichan. Dog brother. A nickname for Inuyasha, which would make sense, considering his name, but she had a feeling it was more than that.

_Inuyasha = Inu-no-niichan._ She wrote. And then she paused.

_Kiyoshi said that Inuyasha _was_ his brother._ She wrote slowly, as if not really wanting to continue the thought. _Was. I always wondered why he didn't come to visit me, if he really was my boyfriend. Could it be that he died?_

She didn't notice she was crying until a tear dropped on the notebook. Why was she crying for a man she didn't even remember? Apparently, he had meant a lot to her.

Closing her eyes, Kagome let the pen drop from her hands. She didn't want to think about it anymore. For the first time ever since she had woken up in the hospital, she wondered if she really was doing the right thing. The doctors said her mind repressed her memories because she couldn't handle them. Could it be that her mother was right, and it was best for her not to remember?

But how could she know that, if she didn't know what she had forgotten?

* * *

And the plot thickens…

Hope you enjoyed this new chapter of Lost in His Memories!

~Lyla


	4. Frequently Asked Questions

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.

sorry for taking so long to post this, life has been pretty demanding lately. I promise I'll do my best to keep posting regularly(ish)!

* * *

"So, how was it?" Eri asked.

"How was what?" Kagome replied, her mind still stuck on what she had written the night before.

"Kiyoshi Taisho, of course!" Eri replied, looking shocked that it wasn't the first thing on Kagome's mind. Didn't she realize Kagome had more important things on her mind, like the fact that she hardly had anything on it?

"Nothing happened, Eri chan," she answered. For some reason, she didn't want to tell her three friends that Kiyoshi had known her from before, and of his agreement to help her regain her memory. "He saw the Goshinboku, asked a few questions, and left."

"That's it?" Eri asked, disappointment clear on her face.

"That's it," Kagome replied, feeling just a bit uneasy. She didn't like lying to her friends. _Although,_ she thought, _I didn't really lie, per se. I simply omitted part of the truth._ That had made her feel better, even though it was a huge chunk of the truth that she had left out.

"Trust it to you to have one of Japan's most eligible under your nose and not do anything about it," Yuka muttered, though they could all hear exactly what she said. It was then that Kagome had lost it.

"Well, what did you want me to do? Show him my room, as part of the tour of the grounds? Get him in bed? Come on, Yuka chan! He's like a thousand years older than I am!"

"Calm down, Kagome chan," Ayumi started, always the peacemaker. "I'm sure she didn't mean it that way." Kagome turned her eyes to Ayumi, realizing that some time during her little tirade she had stood up, and was now looking down at her three friends. She didn't sit back down, though.

"Besides, Kagome chan, he's not even thirty." Eri – the queen of gossip if there ever was one – corrected her.

It was obviously the wrong thing to say.

"And I'm not even eighteen!" Kagome replied angrily, picking up her bag. "I'm going back to the classroom," she informed her three friends, who were looking a little stunned at her outburst.

Kagome walked angrily out of the cafeteria. It might have been only the middle of lunch break, but she wasn't hungry anymore. Besides, the next class was math, and she could definitely use some extra studying. She just hoped it could help her relax a little bit, too.

* * *

Eri, Ayumi and Yuka came to her after class, the first two nudging the third towards her.

"I'm sorry about earlier, Kagome chan." Yuka said finally. "I didn't mean it like that."

"It's ok, Yuka chan. I shouldn't have snapped like that. It's just… well, let's just say the past few months haven't been easy for me."

Yuka nodded in understanding, and the two girls smiled at each other, and for one moment Kagome felt as if all was right in her world. Even though she knew she had let the other girl go off lightly, Kagome did not need to add a fight with her friend to top everything else she had to deal with. She felt alone enough as it was, even when surrounded by her friends. Besides, Yuka had never been one to acknowledge her mistakes, and for her to actually apologize – well, Kagome saw no reason not to accept said apology.

The four of them kept talking while they were waiting for their history teacher to arrive – the only class Kagome felt she was any good in, though she had no idea why – when Kagome realized something very important; Kiyoshi said that he would pick her up from school.

And she had told her friends that nothing had happened. They would definitely know she lied to them if they saw him, and she had no doubt they would. Kiyoshi Taisho was a hard man to miss. As she racked her brains madly for an excuse, she realized that there was something else that she had been ignoring and just didn't make sense.

"Eri chan," Kagome started, stopping the chatter of the other three. "Has he ever been to Japan before?" there was no need to elaborate as to whom she was referring.

"Well, no – it's his first time here, why do you—" that was all Eri got to say, because Yuka had interrupted, a huge 'I-told-you-so' smile on her face.

"Something _did_ happen, didn't it?"

"Well… Kind of, I suppose," Kagome floundered. She already had an idea of what to say, but it was also an outright lie. Still, with three expectant faces in front of her, she had no other option – well, except telling them that Kiyoshi had intimate knowledge of the Goshinboku, as if he had seen the tree a hundred times before; he had known exactly where to find the one unnatural nick on the tree's bark. How could he know, if he had never been to Japan? It didn't make any sense.

"He asked me to show him around Tokyo for a few days. I've no idea why," she added quickly, already knowing what her friends' first question will be. "I've been wondering if it was just an excuse or if he really didn't know anything and anyone, as he said."

"And, what did you say?" Ayumi asked, and Yuka added, "Please tell me you agreed."

Kagome nodded, and was rewarded with a three-way squeal that left her ears ringing for the rest of the conversation.

"He fancies you, I knew it!" Yuka exclaimed once they were done tormenting Kagome's ears. Kagome gave her a confused look.

"It was pretty obvious, considering the way he was looking at you. And smiling." She explained, pausing to sigh dreamily before continuing. "After all, you're just a school girl. He could've asked anyone – no offence."

"None taken," Kagome replied, just as the teacher walked into the room. The three girls had scattered to find their seats as the teacher put down his briefcase and started talking. It was Kagome's favorite subject, but she couldn't concentrate on what he was saying if her life depended on it. Her three friends – in their never ending quest for romance and love at first sight and other such nonsense – seemed to have forgotten all about it, but Kagome didn't; while Kiyoshi was standing her and looking at her and smiling, he asked them about the _Goshinboku_.

That meant that not only did he know the god tree pretty well, he also knew that she was connected to it. And yet, he'd never been to Japan before, and Souta didn't recognize him. He didn't seem to know her house, or the shrine, or even the grounds. Just the Goshinboku. And her. Nothing of it made any sense, but she had a nagging feeling that Taisho Kiyoshi wasn't exactly who he claimed he was.

* * *

The rest of the day passed in a blur. A slow blur, if there was ever such thing. Kagome didn't remember anything said in class; she was in her own world, trying to make sense in what appeared to have no sense at all. She didn't bother copying stuff from the blackboard. The only notebook she had written in was the one she had started the previous evening, the one filled with questions she was going to ask him the minute she saw him. She didn't even bother writing down the homework the teachers handed out. She knew she might regret it later, but at that moment she couldn't care less.

Finally – _finally! _– the bell signaling the end of the day rang, and Kagome stuffed her notebook in her bag and practically ran out of the room, ignoring her friends' cries of 'wait up!'. She let out the breath she didn't even know she was holding as she saw the black limousine waiting by the gate. It made sense to her that he would be punctual, though she had no idea why she would think so. It didn't matter, since at the moment she was simply relieved to finally get some answers.

* * *

Kiyoshi was standing in his customary position – which meant, leaning on his limo and smiling at her – as Kagome approached. She had spent the past few hours thinking what she would say to him when she finally saw him, but for some reason she couldn't remember any of that at that moment.

"Miko," he nodded to her as he opened the door, gesturing her to enter the limo before him.

"Kiyoshi san," she started, but he cut her off.

"There is no need to be so formal, little Miko. We are, after all, old friends." There was a small smile on his face as she said it, his lips curving upwards so slightly she wondered how she noticed it. "Please, call me Kiyoshi."

She nodded. "I have a few questions for you," she said, hesitantly. It was an understatement, of course, but there was something about him that made her pause. _Why is he so nice to me?_ She thought, not sure where the question came from, especially if he really was, like he had said, an old friend.

"Then I will do my best to answer." she smiled, and opened her mouth to ask the first question on her mind. She didn't get a chance to talk, though. "But not here." He continued, and she realized that they were still parked in front of the school gate.

"Where, then?" Kagome asked.

"Is there a park in the area? Someplace big, and relatively quiet." Kagome nodded, telling the driver where to go.

"Why a park?" she asked him, curious.

"I do not appreciate the noise of the city. Besides, in any other place we would attract unwanted attention."

Kagome blinked. "And yet you travel around in a limousine. If there was any car constructed to attract attention…" she trailed off, some instinct telling her that questioning his judgment was _not_ a good idea. Kiyoshi, however, simply looked at her, before giving a slight nod. It was amazing to her, how he could express so much with so little movement. And more than that – she was amazed that she could read them so easily.

* * *

"So, you said you have questions for me?" He asked after they sat down on the grass in the park, in the shade of a relatively big tree.

"Yes," Kagome started. "After you left, I took out a notebook and started writing everything I could think of," she explained, taking out said notebook form her backpack. "I have to admit, it only raised more and more questions, rather than helping me find answers."

"Knowing what the questions are is the first step to getting the answers." Kiyoshi stated, and she thought she could see a hint of appreciation in his eyes. "Show me." It was not a request, but more of a command, to which Kagome easily acquiesced, opening her notebook in the first page and handing it over to him.

"Hn," was the only response she got as he read, completely ignoring the fact that she was on pins and needles, waiting for some answers.

"Well?" he looked at her, as if not understanding what she was waiting for. "Are you going to answer some of those questions?"

He put the notebook down. "I already said I cannot simply tell you." Kagome blinked. "Why not?" she argued. "You know the answers, don't pretend otherwise, and I—"

"Kagome," he cut her off, and his use of her name instead of his customary 'Miko' – or worse, 'little Miko' – had effectively shut her up. "Would you believe me if I said that when I knew you, you were one of the most powerful Miko in Japan?"

Kagome blinked again. She had a feeling she knew where he was going with it, and part of her wanted to say 'yes' just to throw him off. The larger part of her, though, told her to stick to the truth.

"No," she admitted. "Not really. I mean, Miko training takes many years, much more than three." She might believe him if he said she was simply a Miko, but one of the most powerful in Japan? There was no way she could believe that. Besides, how does one measure the power of Miko? All they did was tend their shrines, and offer blessings to the shrine visitors. It's not like they had to fight youkai or something just as ludicrous.

"Then how do you expect to believe anything else I say about your past?"

Kagome huffed. She was expecting that response, but it didn't mean she was happy with it. "Then how am I to find out what happened? You're the only one that knows!"

"The answer to that question, at least, I can answer." he said, placing her notebook in front of them. "You are wrong on one thing, Miko; I am not the only one who retains memories of what has occurred." He punctuated that last sentence by pointing his finger at the doodle she had made and pasted in her notebook. "Your memories might be locked away, but some part of you still has access to them."

Kagome stared at him in disbelief. "You expect me to believe that you used to wander around with tattoos on your face, and that fluffy thingy, and spiked armor over white gi, and two swords, and…"

And here she paused, her brain finally hearing what she had said, and she blinked at her own words. She had not drawn swords, nor a gi – and definitely not a white one – while she doodled.

"Swords?" Kiyoshi asked with his eyebrow raised, the smirk on his face telling her that he knew exactly what she was thinking about.

"I have an overly imaginative imagination." She mumbled, and he chuckled.

"Let us just say that you have seen me wear this getup. The circumstances do not matter, for now."

Kagome nodded, subdued, and he continued. "The fact of the matter is that your subconscious remembers. And that is how you will get your answers. I want you to think about everything that you said or thought for the past two days. Try to find things that didn't make any sense, things that didn't quite fit with what occurred at that moment. Write it down if it helps you, even the most seemingly irrelevant bit. We'll sort it out after you're done."

Kagome nodded, taking the notebook in her lap and taking out a pen from her bag. It was similar to what she had done the previous evening, only this time it was herself that she was scrutinizing.

"I am a link to your past," Kiyoshi added. "Therefore it is most likely that I will be the trigger of what we're looking for." Kagome glanced at him as he said that. She had a feeling he was being quite smug about it, but it did make sense. And besides, for all that none of it made any sense to her, he was doing all of this to help her out. She wasn't about to argue every little thing with someone who was doing all of this _for_ _her_. With that thought in mind, she once again recalled the first time she had met him – the first that she remembered, that is – and, taking her time, she started to write.

* * *

Hope you enjoyed! ^^


	5. Baby Steps

A/N: Hey everyone, sorry (again) for the wait. I could probably spew excuses to last a couple of pages, but it doesn't really matter – what matters is I am posting now.

With that said – on with the story!

Hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: don't own. Sad but true.

* * *

Sesshoumaru watched the Miko as she wrote in her notebook – a rather clever idea, he had to admit. He felt just a bit proud of her for taking the initiative, for trying to find out what she could on her own. He had not expected this of her, but she had always had the ability of doing exactly the opposite of what he had expected. What he _should_ have expected, though, was her disbelief. He was frustrated that he hadn't anticipated it, but it made sense; she had grown up here, in this era where Youkai were considered a figment of the imagination, where magic only had place in fairytales. As for time traveling… that concept was unheard of in the Feudal Era, nowadays existing only in sci-fi stories.

He was suddenly pulled out of his musings when he smelled tears – the Miko's tears.

"Kiyoshi?" she asked, looking up at him, and he could see that her face was dry, but her eyes were filled with tears. He could also sense her confusion, as if she didn't know what she was crying about. "What happened to Inuyasha?"

Ah. He had read what she had written on his brother, had smelled the tears that clung to the paper. It made sense that she was confused, crying over a man she did not remember. He knew that this could not be dealt with bluntly. She was fragile as it were. And yet, he felt that she deserved an answer, at least this once.

"Inuyasha…" Sesshoumaru was at a loss for words, which was something he was not accustomed to. "He loved you." he said eventually.

"Past tense again," the Miko remarked bitterly. "He's dead, isn't he?"

Sesshoumaru nodded. "I am sorry."

"I don't even remember him." She said. "When I try, the only thing I can think of is red."

"Red was his color. He wore it all the time…" Sesshoumaru trailed off, remembering his brother. He had gained some respect for the hanyou after his death. Especially after his arm had finally regrown.

"What was he like?"

"He was ill-mannered, brash and brazen – sometimes to the point of stupidity. But he was also caring and honorable, in his own way."

"I wish I could remember him." She said, sighing softly.

They sat in silence for a few more minutes, before the Miko sat up. "Well, it's no use sitting and wishing for stuff to happen." She remarked, taking the pen and the notebook in her hands before she started writing furiously, as if filled with a new purpose. Sesshoumaru waited patiently for her to finish with a soft smile and a new found appreciation.

* * *

Kagome looked at her finished work with a sigh. She was grateful to Kiyoshi for answering her questions about Inuyasha – she had half expected him to stick to his regular mantra of 'I can't give you answers'. The talk about Inuyasha gave her a new sense of purpose, making her dismiss her fears from the night before. From the way Kiyoshi described him, Inuyasha seemed like someone who deserved to be remembered.

But now was not the time to dwell in sadness over his death. Now, she had to push forward with all her strength. She will allow herself to cry when she had memories to know who she was crying for.

Surveying again everything she had written, Kagome came to a conclusion.

"I make it sound like you're some kind of Youkai-like immortal evil thing," she said jokingly.

"What makes you think that I am not?" Kiyoshi replied with a smirk.

"Come on, Kiyoshi. There's no such thing as Youkai."

He merely 'hn'ed in reply, taking the notebook from her hand and reading what she had written – though she wondered if he would understand anything of it. It was a short list of random thoughts, all written under the title of "Kiyoshi". The list included things like '_worthless ningen', 'slice my head off with his hand', 'foolish hanyou', 'thousand years older than me', 'too nice'_, and '_not who he claims to be'_, among others. She hoped he wouldn't take it the wrong way, but he _had_ told her to write everything she thought. She looked at him as he read, trying to gauge his reaction. It was not what she had expected – his smirk had widened, and she breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn't angry.

"A thousand years older?" he asked softly. "What made you think that?"

Kagome blushed. That was one thing she was not looking forward to explain. Choosing the easy way out, she simply answered – "How should I know? You told me to write the things that didn't make sense."

He lifted his eyes from the notebook to look at her. "That is not what I asked, Miko, and you know that. What occurrence made you think that?"

_Busted!_ She thought to herself. In some way, though, she was glad that he gave her enough credit to know that she tried misleading him on purpose. It didn't help the blush that was spreading all over her face, though.

"Well," She started. "Do you remember my three friends, from yesterday?" He nodded. "They think that you fancy me, for some reason." She was definitely not looking at him now. "I said that to try to make them understand that it was a ridiculous notion."

"Did it work?" he asked, and she could hear the amusement in his voice. She shook her head, still not looking at him, and he chuckled. It was the second time she had heard him chuckle, and it still felt odd and out of place.

"I should probably take you back home now," Kiyoshi said after a couple of minutes of silence, "I will pick you up tomorrow and we will continue where we left off." Kagome nodded. It was draining, trying to understand what was going on in her subconscious.

"In any case," he continued. "This is a good start. Try to think of anything else that might be a link and write it down – we will go over it tomorrow. Consider it as your homework," he finished with a smirk, but Kagome didn't notice it. She had just remembered something very important.

"Homework! Oh no! I didn't copy anything from the board!" She was doomed. Utterly doomed. She was already behind so much as it was, having missed out nearly three years of school. Even her brain was against her, it seemed. If her subconscious remembered the past, why couldn't it help her in math? Or at least, allow her to concentrate enough today in school, at the very least made her pay attention enough to copy down the homework…

"Why?" Kiyoshi's question made her stop berating herself, at least for that moment.

"Err, I was too preoccupied with trying to figure out everything that didn't make sense." She explained.

"What topics did you miss?"

"History, biology, and literature." She replied. Those were the classes she _weren't _paying attention in, though she knew math would be horrible even though she _did_ listen, then.

"Do you require help with your homework?"

Kagome blinked. That definitely did not seem like him to offer. And yet, she found that she couldn't really refuse his help once offered. Especially since she knew it was not something lightly suggested.

* * *

A short phone call to Ayumi later, and Kagome had her homework neatly written down. They didn't get any homework in biology – _thank kami! _– and for literature they only had to choose a book to write a book report about. For history, though, they had to read a few pages on the textbook and answer the following questions. Ayumi also said that the teacher had hinted about an essay they would have to write later on, and that they should start thinking about the subject they would want to write about. And then there was math, which, although she _had_ listened during the lesson, still felt like it was in an entirely different language.

"So, it's only history and math," she informed Kiyoshi. "Still want to help?" he gave her a shrug, as if telling her 'why not?' and she smiled, taking out her math textbook and notebook. "I warn you, then – I suck at math." They were studying trigonometry since the beginning of the school year, and she still didn't have a clue as what the hell _sinus_ even meant.

The next hour was spent with Kiyoshi explaining to her what he said were basic mathematical laws, making her write down all the formulas on one page, so she'd have them all gathered for when she actually tried to solve one of the exercises, but not before he explained to her the logic behind each formula and it's uses. He helped her make sense out of them, which was something she had always looked for in math – it was _supposed_ to be a very logical subject, though she had never found it before.

And so, with a new sense of understanding, Kagome started solving the first exercise, all the while thinking to herself how _weird_ it was the he, of all people, would help her with her math homework. Something in her kept whispering that he shouldn't be able to help her, but she ignored it – at least until she was finished with her homework.

* * *

"Done!" Kagome exclaimed, closing her textbook triumphantly, and turned to look at Sesshoumaru with a huge grin on her face. "Thank you so much for your help, Kiyoshi. I couldn't have done it without you." he smiled back, knowing the truth in her words. For someone who had a rational mind – _most of the time_, he thought wryly – he was actually surprised when he realized she was so inept at the subject. And then he realized that she had spent the past three years in Sengoku Jidai, had hardly been at school, and he doubted she had anyone to help her recoup the knowledge her classmates had gained during the lessons she missed. Knowing his brother, Inuyasha had probably done the exact opposite. And thus Kagome, who was always looking for reasons, was left with simple facts and no reasons. That was why he decided to start by explaining it all to her.

"You know," Kagome started. "It's funny, but I kept feeling like you shouldn't really know all of this, that you shouldn't be able to help me. Do you think it could be another subconscious thing?"

Sesshoumaru nodded. "Math is… a recent pastime for me." He explained.

"But… the last time you saw me was a few months ago, wasn't it? That's not enough time…" she trailed off, before starting again. "Is it one of those things that you can't tell me? Cause you have this look that you always have when you can't answer." Sesshoumaru had to stop himself from visibly starting. He knew he had changed over the past five hundred years – that was only to be expected, really – but to the point where humans could read his expressions so easily? Or was it because she had known him _before_, and so the small change was enough for her?

He hoped it was the latter.

"It is," he responded eventually. "You should write it down in your notebook, though." The Miko nodded, taking out both her notebook and her history text book. She opened the book once she was finished writing, mumbling to herself as she looked for the page she had to read. "We started a new subject? How did I miss that? Myths and legends in Sengoku Jidai, and their influence on day to day life in Feudal Japan… Jiichan's gonna love this one." Sesshoumaru smiled inwardly at her mumblings. He couldn't have picked a better subject himself – studying about the Feudal Era might remind her about her past. After finding the right page, she set the book in her lap and started reading aloud, so he could hear, too. He was glad that she had done so – while he _knew_ what really happened then, history was never an accurate, objective tale. He was curious to know what the humans had written about his race.

'_The Japanese of the Warring States Era were a very superstitious people,'_ she read. '_They believed in all matter of supernatural beings, along with the Shinto and Buddhist Gods. Each being had a different purpose and a different name, and although the term 'youkai' is nowadays used to define the entire, wide range of these preternatural beings, it was used then to describe the more intelligent and human-like demons, as opposed to, for example, their Oni companions. Oni were usually described as great, ogre-like beasts, their minds bent solely on destruction and killing. Youkai, however, were portrayed as clever, normally cunning creatures, and unlike the Oni, they were capable of talking with humans. Indeed, there are many stories about Youkai impersonating humans in order to trick them into something. They were also capable of emotions, as there are many tales of Youkai falling in love with a human. The child of such a union was called a 'hanyou'. Children born with severe disfigurements were often considered as hanyou, and were usually killed soon after their birth, sometimes along with their mother.'_

"How terrible!" the Miko had sat up, letting the book fall from her hands. "How could they do such a thing?" Sesshoumaru looked at her, wondering if it was her kind heart or her forgotten memories that were responsible for that comment. "This is Feudal Japan, Kagome. You can hardly expect them to embrace those they hated and feared."

"That doesn't mean they should behave like _that_!" she said, annoyed, pointing at the book to punctuate her words.

"No, they shouldn't. But they did. Kagome, this is the past, and no matter how much we regret it, we cannot change it." He wondered if she sensed his own regret over his past, and hoped she didn't. "Let's keep reading," he suggested, taking the book from where it had fallen and continuing from where she had left off.

'_This behavior would be seen as cruel, in our time, yet it was understandable then. Youkai were created by humans to explain everything that went wrong__; whether it was a disease, a natural disaster (such as earthquakes, fires, and tsunami), or even the insignificant-seeming incidents (such as the oil suddenly disappearing from the lamps, or even just seeing the image of a child playing during a storm). Each occasion had its own youkai. For example, when a child went missing, it was contributed to the Aobouzu, the blue monk who stole children.'_

It went on, describing some of the different kinds of youkai as well as their origins. Many youkai had been born of humans – _like Naraku_ – Sesshoumaru thought with a grimace, though the text also acknowledged that some had been _born_ youkai, related to animals or one of the four elements. It was sad, that his race had come to this; a myth, a fairytale story. One that warranted a small chapter in history books, yes, but even that was in order to better understand the _humans_ of the time. Once, they had ruled Japan. Now they were a bedtime story to scare little children. He used to _enjoy_ scaring humans. The irony was not lost on him.

* * *

A/N –

I used Wikipedia to write some of that text, however most of it comes from my head and the past as it was told in Inuyasha (like the hanyou thing) and therefore has absolutely no historic credibility whatsoever, and should not be considered as such. Actually, it is most likely completely wrong, even though I did my fair share of research to write it.

Tell me what you think!


	6. Miko Once Again

A/N: Well hello there my lovelies! look here, another chapter of LiHM, and it's even on time!

Actually, the pasty week my computer decided to play dead, and all i could think about was what if the doctor wouldn't be able to retrieve my stories... especially this one, since it's all written down and finished and I would have died if I had to re-write everything...

but, everything's fine and nothing's gone missing, so - since i'm so ecstatic to have my laptop back - you get the new chapter right now, even though i really should be getting ready to work...

* * *

Kagome fell down on her bed with a sigh. She spent the day poking and prodding her memory, so she wasn't entirely surprised at how exhausted she felt. She had also asked Kiyoshi to drop her off around the corner from her house, and the walk the rest of the way did not help her tiredness. All things considered, though, it was a better option than having to explain her mother why she came home in a _limo_. While lying to her was a necessity – one that she hated – it would be much harder to find a plausible reason for coming home in a limo after spending the day with Eri, Yuka and Ayumi.

"Souta, Kagome, Jiichan! Dinner's ready!" Mama's voice came from below. Letting out another sigh, Kagome got up, hoping that maybe dinner would restore some of her energy.

* * *

Kagome's hope came true. She did get some extra energy from dinner – as a matter of fact, too much energy. It was nearing midnight now and she couldn't sleep. And not just that, she was feeling suffocated in her own room. She longed for fresh air, for a change of scenery. There really wasn't anything else she could do, so she changed her clothes and quietly left the house, no real direction in mind. It has been a while since she had wandered the streets of Tokyo with no aim, no specific place she wanted to reach. She wanted some place quiet, though, so her feet naturally avoided areas she knew would be full of people. It wasn't long before she had reached a place – a small playground for the neighborhood's children – that she both remembered and completely forgot. This forgetfulness had nothing to do with her usual dilemma these days; the memories that this place had awakened were far older. It was only natural, really, as the last time she had been in here, she was five years old. Her old kindergarten was still nearby, and though she imagined the swing and slides had undergone some renovations, her hesitant memory told her the place remained exactly the same. She recognized the place where the ice cream truck always stopped, just at the right time for the children to pester their parents into buying them a popsicle. She recognized another spot, where she and her friends would sit and make 'pretend potions' out of flowers and leaves from the nearby bushes, pretending they were witches. And then there were the swings, where her father would push her as hard as he could, and she would scream gleefully, hoping to touch the skies.

Kagome forced the tears from her eyes. She missed her father, but it was more than that; this place contained so many happy memories that it was painful to see it so… silent. And the fact that she had completely forgotten said memories…

Kagome sighed, closing her eyes, wondering if there was any such magical place that would remind her so quickly of those three years she had forgotten. There was something – not a place, not even images in her head; it was more of an idea. There was green all around, and tatami mats, and hot stew, and the feeling of belonging, and…

And just like that, it was gone, and Kagome was left with a feeling of longing, and she couldn't stop thinking about the irony of it all; how could she be yearning for something when she didn't even know what that something was?

* * *

The next day passed pretty quickly, and Kagome was actually able to listen in class, which meant that it was also an improvement from yesterday.

Of course, that didn't mean she managed to avoid her friend's questions – "So, how was it, Kagome chan?" "Where did you take him, Kagome chan?" "Did anything happen, Kagome chan?" to which she simply glared at Yuka and said, "no, nothing happened. I showed him some places, and asked some questions, and took me home."

"That's it?"

"Yes, Yuka chan. That's it." Not wanting a repeat of the day before, Kagome hurriedly added, "We are going to meet again today, too."

The three other girls smiled, and Kagome hoped that that little tidbit would be enough for them, at least for now.

"So, where are you planning on taking him today?"

Kagome paused, wondering the same thing. Will they be going back to the park? She didn't mind it all that much, but she wondered if maybe they could do something that required some… movement. She found that sitting and doing nothing for so long made her a bit… antsy.

"I don't know," She told her friends. "Yesterday he told me what he wanted to see and I simply led the way. I don't think today's gonna be very different."

Her friends nodded just in time with the bell to ring, and they all headed off for dreaded math.

* * *

The dreaded math, apparently, did not warrant as much dread as Kagome thought. After Kiyoshi's explanations, she had actually made sense of what the teacher had told them in class. And not just that – at one point, the teacher wrote an exercise on the blackboard, asking for someone to volunteer to solve it. Kagome, already seeing the solution, raised her hand tentatively, and the teacher, happy to see her participate for a change, invited her to the blackboard. Nervously, Kagome took the chalk from her teacher and began writing. When she was done, the teacher had given her a proud smile which she returned in force. It made her feel powerful; she had solved a math problem in front of _everyone_, something she never thought she could achieve. It made her feel as if nothing was impossible, as if she could change the world.

It made her believe that, with Kiyoshi's help, she really would get her memories back.

* * *

After class Kagome's three friends walked over to her desk.

"That was great, Kagome chan! Well done." She knew what Ayumi was referring to; the other girl had often sat with Kagome and tried to help her with her homework, and always got frustrated when Kagome simply did not understand. "How did you do that?"

"Well…" Kagome started. That was something that would be a bit embarrassing to admit, but she owed it to her friends. "After I showed him around, Kiyoshi san offered to help me with my homework."

"Really? That's so nice of him!"

Kagome nodded. "He said it was only fair – after all, I was showing him around and everything." The lie came easily on her mind – and tongue – and she was a bit surprised at herself for being able to lie to them so quickly.

* * *

Kagome left school in less of a hurry this time, accompanied by her three friends. She was glad that she did so when she saw no black limo at the gate. _He probably had some unexpected emergency or something,_ she thought to herself, deciding to wait by the gates – not that she had a different option.

When the four girls got to the gates, however, Kagome saw the now-familiar silver head, leaning on a black convertible, talking to someone on his phone. Saying goodbye to her friends, she walked over to him, wondering about the change. She supposed he had listened to her about the limo attracting attention, but… a black convertible was hardly a car usually seen around these parts of Tokyo. It screamed 'money', but she doubted anything Kiyoshi did would _not_ scream 'money'. Or at least, scream 'power'. Or just make other people scream.

He smiled and nodded at her when she came to a stop in front of him, but did not hang up. It was ok with her – she was still busy musing her last thought; why would he want to make people scream for no apparent reason?

"Yes, I am certain." He told the person on the other side. "There is to be no other person there but us. You will be compensated for your inconvenience, of course. We will be there shortly." And with that, he hung up, smiling at Kagome once again.

"Good afternoon, Kagome. I trust your day went well?" she nodded as he opened the door for her, his gentlemanly acts still feeling out of place to her. She waited as he got inside as well, and fiddled a bit with the GPS device before starting the car.

"So…" she said once he started driving. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see soon enough," he replied, and she huffed silently. It wasn't that she was particularly curious as to their destination – she would find out eventually, as he had said – it was just that she didn't much enjoy their silent car rides. And besides, she found that she liked hearing his voice.

"I wanted to say… thank you again for helping me with math yesterday." She said, trying to fill the silence. "I actually understood what the teacher was saying today – and I even solved a question on the blackboard." For some reason, she felt that she wanted him to be proud of her, and she also wanted to remind of herself of that moment when she felt like she could do anything she wanted to. Kiyoshi merely smiled at her, though, so she continued telling him about her day. "Our history teacher gave us a project today," she said. "We have to pick one kind of youkai mentioned in the book and invent a fairytale-like story about it."

"Really?" he finally responded. "And what are you going to write about?"

"I'm not entirely sure," she said. "I have a couple of ideas, but I can't seem to decide."

"What are the ideas, then?"

"Well, at first I wanted to write a story about Inugami – one of my favorite stories when I was a kid was that of the Hana-saka-jijii. I was enthralled with the idea of the dog loving his owner so much it helped him even from beyond the grave," she explained. "But I wanted to focus more on the dog than on the humans. And then I thought about Hanyou, and how they were mistreated by the humans, and I figured Youkai wouldn't be much nicer, and I thought that it could be interesting, writing about it."

"Interesting, indeed," he said, and then, after a long pause, added, "Why don't you write about Inu Hanyou?"

"I-Inu hanyou?" she asked. The word has struck something deep inside of her, though she didn't know what it was, or why.

"Why not? After all, Inugami weren't the only dog youkai told about in the Feudal Era."

"I suppose," she said. "I'll think about it."

The rest of the drive there was silent, except for the random instructions of the metallic voice of the GPS to 'Turn Right', or left, but Kagome didn't notice it very much; she was too busy thinking about the story of the Inu hanyou as it began to form in her mind.

She was cut off her musing, though, when Kiyoshi stopped the car, announcing that they have arrived. Getting out of the car, she looked around, trying to figure out where they were.

"An archery range?" she asked him. "What are we doing in an archery range?"

Kiyoshi, however, ignored her, walking inside to greet the proprietor of the place. Left with no other option, Kagome ran after him.

"Taisho san, I presume?" the old man had asked, and Kiyoshi nodded. "Everyone is gone, as you requested." Kiyoshi nodded again. "Should I also leave?" It was obvious the old man was reluctant to do so.

"You may stay," Kiyoshi answered. "As long as you remain in your office. We are to practice alone."

"What about the medic? I could be shut down if anyone found out I let you practice without a medic nearby."

"There will be no need. As I have told you on the phone, I have had medical training, and my companion is also quite adapt at providing medical help." Kagome blinked, wondering where _that_ had come from. She could put some Band-Aids on, but that couldn't really be considered as 'medical help'. She had a feeling she should not question Kiyoshi about that in front of the proprietor, though.

"Just show us where the first aid kit is." Kiyoshi added, and the old man sighed, clearly not to happy about the situation, but not about to argue anymore. Kagome was certain it had something to do with the compensation Kiyoshi had mentioned on the phone.

After showing them where everything was, the old man left – sourly – to his office, and Kiyoshi, once certain the man was gone indeed, handed her a bow and arrow.

"Here," he said. "Shoot."

Kagome blinked.

"I don't know how to use a bow, Kiyoshi." She informed him, but he only raised his eyebrow at her. "And what was that about the medical help? I don't know anything about treating injuries!"

"Kagome, what is the job of a Miko?"

"Tending the shrine," she responded, baffled. "Blessing the shrine visitors." She tried thinking if there was anything else, but couldn't.

"That's it?" he asked, looking at her as if she disappointed him for not saying the answer he expected.

"I grew up in a shrine, Kiyoshi. I think I know what shrine maidens _do_." She replied angrily.

"Hn." He replied. "Once, Miko were so much more than simple shrine-tenders. They were the protectors of their villages. They took care of their people – whether by healing their injuries, or by fighting against that which would cause them harm."

"Well, good for them. But this isn't the Feudal Era, and I am not a Miko!"

"Prove it, then." He said, pointing at her bow.

Still angry, and set on proving him wrong, she notched the arrow, and with one fluid motion released it.

The arrow hit the target with a satisfying _'_thwock_'_, straight at the bullseye.

Kagome stared at it, dumbfounded.

"The first step to remember your past was to trust your subconscious." He reminded her as he walked towards the target to retrieve her arrow. "The second, is to realize who you _are_, Miko."

Kagome found that she couldn't reply, couldn't really do anything but look at him, still shocked, as he pulled the arrow off with one hand, and brought up his other hand, which was clenched in a fist till then, to stroke the bullseye of the target. It was odd, and she wondered for a moment why he would do that, but didn't dwell on it long, because it was then that she had felt _it. _She couldn't really say what _it_ was, only that it was powerful, and that all her senses screamed '_danger!_'. Without thinking, Kagome notched another arrow, pointing it in the direction of the danger – Exactly where Kiyoshi was standing. He turned around and regarded her for a few seconds before walking confidently to her, not caring that he was still in the direction of her arrow, should she choose to release it.

"Pointing arrows at me again, Little Miko?" he asked, and she was tempted to shoot him, simply to stop that condescending tone from appearing in his voice ever again. "I thought we had gone past that part."

Kagome blinked, realizing what he said. _Again_. They had been in that position before, apparently. But why would she have been pointing a bow at him? Didn't he say they were friends?

He kept walking until he stood next to her, and she realized that not only the feeling of danger was greatly diminished, it was coming from the target, and not from him, as she had feared originally.

"I'm sorry," she explained, relaxing her hold on the bow. "I didn't think. I just felt something… dangerous."

"Yes," he responded with one of his nearly invisible smiles. "But why are you putting the bow down? Concentrate on that feeling, and shoot the target." He instructed, and she did just so.

This time, when her arrow flew, it was surrounded by a pink light.

"What… the… fuck?" she managed, and while not prone to cursing, it seemed oddly appropriate just then.

"Spiritual power." He responded, and, seeing her bewildered expression, continued. "Specifically holy powers. The thing that enabled Miko to fight youkai, back in Sengoku Jidai."

"Youkai are fairytales, Kiyoshi. Stories to frighten children with." She automatically responded. It was ridiculous.

"Really?" he asked her. "Can you really say that after what you just did?"

Kagome blinked. No, she couldn't. She blinked again, and suddenly something _clicked_. Kagome was always a girl who liked things to make sense. One plus one was two, two plus two was four, and if she was a Miko who can shoot purification arrows, then…

"You're a Youkai."

* * *

A/N:

Story of the Hana-Saka-Jijii (the man who made withered trees bloom) can be found here:

http: /www .surlalunefairytales .com /books /Japan /ozaki /storyoldmanwitheredtrees .html

Hope you enjoyed!


	7. Shedding Some Light

A/N:

I just want to say thank you to everyone who reviewed this story so far. The past few weeks have been hectic for me, so I didn't get to reply to the reviews as much as I wanted to. But I did read them, and enjoy every minute of it. Each review makes me smile, a proof that you guys enjoy reading my stories and that I'm not writing for myself. So thank you. I really appreciate it.

With that said, on with the story! Hope you enjoy this new chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha

* * *

"You're a Youkai."

"What makes you say that?" He asked with a smirk.

"The pink thingy didn't happen the first time I shot the arrow. Only after you touched the target, and the creepy bad feeling I had. It had to be you."

He nodded proudly, and she could feel her stomach tossing and turning inside her. She had been calm when she came to her realization, and when she gave her explanation. But now… now she felt odd. She didn't want to think of the implications of her statement.

"I… I think we should continue this tomorrow," she told him. "I still have a lot of homework to do for tomorrow, and I need to do some heavy thinking because…"

"No need for explanations, Kagome." He said. "Come, I'll take you home."

They stopped briefly at the proprietor's office to tell him they were done, and then got in the car. The ride home had been silent, Kagome too busy trying not to think of any implications that she didn't even notice the silence.

* * *

Back at home, Kagome glanced longingly at her finished pile of homework. It was probably the first time in her life that she actually wished she had more homework. It was not that she enjoyed doing them, just that she couldn't think of anything else while doing them. Right now, she needed the distraction. She might have been acting just a tad childish, but… she did not want to know what her past was like, if it involved Youkai. Her mother had said it was dangerous for her to remember, and if it involved youkai in any way, Kagome had no doubt that her mother was right.

She entertained the notion of calling Kiyoshi and telling him she had decided that no, she didn't want to know anymore, and thank him for his help. She had even gotten so far as picking up her cell and dialing his number, but she paused before pressing the 'call' button. She had promised herself the day before that she would do her best to remember Inuyasha, so she would know who she was crying about.

Yes, she would continue meeting with Kiyoshi, she decided. If only for Inuyasha's sake.

With that decision in mind, she got out of her room, and this time she had a destination in mind. She walked over to the Goshinboku, ignoring the small fence that surrounded it, mimicking Kiyoshi's exact movements from the first day she met him. 'Foolish hanyou', she heard him say then, though she thought she had misheard him. Now, knowing what she did, she realized that there was a huge possibility that it was exactly what he had said. And when he mentioned inu hanyou, she felt… something, though she couldn't say exactly what it was.

_Could it be…?_ An idea started forming in her head, but she found that she still didn't want to think about _that_. Trying to think of anything else, she remembered her history project. It was due in two weeks, so she had decided she didn't _have_ to start working on it today, but right now she figured doing just that would be a good course of action. Saying goodbye to the Goshinboku, she walked back to her room. She had a Feudal Fairytale to write.

* * *

"Forgive me, Kagome, for yesterday." Kiyoshi apologized when he came to pick her up from school the next day. "I did not think you would reach that conclusion so fast, when you were obviously not yet ready for it."

"What did you think would happen once I shot an arrow with a pink thingy surrounding it?"

"I merely wanted you to realize your own powers, as well as the fact that those powers are to be found not only in stories. It was my idea that if you could come to believe that you _were_ one of the most powerful Miko in Japan, you could believe the rest of the story."

Kagome blinked. He _had_ told her before, when she asked why he would not simply tell her what happened, that she would not believe it. She supposed he was right – if her story included things like Youkai, and Miko with actual powers.

"Oh," she said finally, for the lack of a better thing to say.

"Are you all right?" he asked her, and she could see that he was genuinely concerned, even though it struck her as odd that he would. Thinking back, she realized that every time he was being nice she had been baffled at his behavior. It was as if she really didn't think he should be kind to her.

"I'm fine," she told him, though she wasn't entirely sure she was. It was a lot to digest, the idea of youkai and magic being _real_, but she had decided to go along with it. At one point in time, she _knew_ it was real. Now she simply had to have faith in the old, forgotten Kagome that knew all of those things, and do her best to bring her back.

Besides, right now she had another thing that bothered her.

"Kiyoshi…" she started. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Always." He replied.

"When I pointed that arrow at you, you said that I had done so before." He nodded, keeping his eyes on the road. "We were enemies back then, weren't we?"

He took his time responding. "At first." He said eventually, looking at her, as if trying to gauge her reaction. She, however, merely nodded. She expected as much.

"Not to sound ungrateful or anything, but… why are you helping me?"

He didn't respond, merely parked the car. "We are here," he announced, getting out of the car. Kagome sat dumbfounded for all of a minute, before realizing he was already out of the car and waiting for her to get out, too.

* * *

Sesshoumaru mentally grimaced as he waited for the Miko to get out of the car. He knew that she would not leave him before he answered her question, but he was not used to giving explanations as to his actions.

"Kiyoshi," the miko started as she drew near him.

"I will answer your question, miko. But first, let us go inside." She nodded, and then looked around.

"A museum?"

He nodded. "I had recently lent some artifacts to this place. They're opening the exhibition tomorrow, and invited me to come and see it today, before it opens. I thought it might hold some interest to you." she nodded, and he wondered what her reaction will be. Will some artifact or another trigger her memory? It would certainly be the easiest thing, but he found that he was reluctant to consider that option. He had been enjoying his time spent with the miko, and couldn't help but fear that it would come to an end when she remembered her past.

Banishing these thoughts – what will happen will happen – he walked inside the museum, Kagome at his side. The clerk at the front desk recognized him instantly, leading them towards the closed area where the new exhibition will be, and closing the door behind them, offering them solitude while they looked at his relics.

"So…" Kagome started once they were alone. "Is now a good time to ask for an answer?"

He nodded. "As you stated yesterday, I am youkai. And as you told your friends, I am old. Far older than most youkai get to live." She nodded, not looking surprised at his statement. "Helping you is probably the most interesting thing I've done the past few hundred years."

"Oh." She replied, and he wondered if she could tell that it wasn't the whole truth. He wondered if he should say more, tell her that she had always been a puzzle which he tried to solve, ever since she pulled out the Tessaiga. A puzzle he thought he failed to solve when she disappeared five hundred years ago – and oh how he loathed the thought of failure. Failing was something he _did not do_. He couldn't think of a way to say it without giving away too much, though – she was awfully perceptive – so he kept quiet, instead offering that they should start looking at the exhibition.

* * *

Kagome looked at the relics, not really focusing on them. Her mind was busy musing on different things – in her head, she kept repeating the words Kiyoshi had just said. Something about it seemed wrong. _Helping you is probably the most interesting thing I've done the past few hundred years._ Did it mean that the past few yeas, the time she had forgotten, was boring? Or maybe, when he said 'helping you', he was referring not only to now, to help her find her memories, but also to the past three years?

None of her options seemed to make enough sense. It was as if it was a piece of a puzzle that fit in with the rest, only the picture was entirely unrelated to the pieces it connected with.

Deciding to instead try and focus on the relics – she will find the right piece to fit in the puzzle eventually – Kagome looked at the relics. They were all dated back to the Heian and Kamakura Periods, and Kagome couldn't help but wonder how exactly they were supposed to help her with her memory. But then, Kiyoshi didn't exactly say that they would help, only that they would interest her. Glancing at him, she saw that while he had looked around, he was already standing in the entrance of the next room, waiting for her to finish before he kept going. Taking another quick survey of the room, filled with beautiful vases and pottery works – which were nonetheless pretty boring – she walked over to the next room.

The next room was bigger, and dedicated to the Morumachi Period, going by the sign at the entrance. _Sengoku Jidai_, her mind whispered. Sure, Sengoku Jidai was only part of the Morumachi period, but there was no doubt in her that this room was the reason they were here. Why would it be the reason, she had no idea. But she knew it was. _Could it be that it was simply because I am studying it in school?_ Something in her told her that while it might have been part of the reason, it was not the whole of it. If it was, he wouldn't have taken her here today, while they were alone in the museum.

Once again, it was a question she could not find an answer to on her own, so she did with it exactly what she did with all the others – put it aside for the moment, to be thought of later. Instead, she started looking around at the artifacts, wondering what it was that she was supposed to remember.

She came to a stop in front of three swords. They looked ancient, and one of them was downright battered and tattered, but something in her drew her to them. _Tokijin, Tenseiga and Tessaiga_, the sign beneath them said. _Swords of an Honorable Ruler_. It continued, saying that the swords were said to have belonged to a powerful youkai who ruled the Western Lands of Japan, and she had a feeling that powerful ruler was none other than Kiyoshi himself. _Not all of them_, she thought to herself. _Not all of them were his._ She wished the swords weren't protected with glass casing, wished she could touch the one that she knew was not Kiyoshi's. The shabby one – Tessaiga. She blinked.

She was standing in a grave – the skulls all around were a dead giveaway, but even if they weren't there, she could tell by the fact that she was standing on the still-armored shoulder of a giant skeleton. "I'll protect you!" a brash voice had informed her, and for a minute, disoriented as she was, she didn't understand why she needed protection. And then she saw him; a huge white dog, complete with poisonous saliva and acid dripping from his claws, standing right in front of her, and she wondered how she missed it, as they had been fighting Sesshoumaru for a while now, ever since he took the black pearl from Inuyasha's right eye, bringing them here, and she pulled the shabby sword out of its resting place by mistake. And suddenly the shabby sword wasn't shabby anymore, but a huge fang with fur on the hilt, and sharp, so sharp that Inuyasha cut off Sesshoumaru's hand without appearing to put too much effort into it. She blinked again.

And she was back in the museum, staring at the sword that could kill a thousand youkai with one swing. And Kiyoshi was standing not to far away from her, looking at her with curiosity on his face, as if he could tell that for a moment, she had been far far away. He had two arms, and for a moment she was confused, because she remembered he had _one_, and she thought that maybe she was wrong, maybe it wasn't him, but that crescent moon on the dog's face was unmistakable.

"Sesshoumaru…" she whispered, because she had to test it, and sure enough, he had focused, turned straight to her, and his eyebrows rose minutely, so small a movement that she would have missed it had she not been studying him for a reaction.

"That's your name – your real name, isn't it?"

He nodded. She knew it; it wasn't a figment of her overly imaginative imagination, as she liked to say. It was a _memory_, from _then._ "He cut off your arm…" she continued, and he nodded again, and she looked at him with a question in her eyes, looking at his left arm, because it hadn't been there and now it was.

"It grew back after a couple of centuries." He explained, and she nodded, because she really didn't know what else to say.

"What else do you remember?"

She closed her eyes, trying to remember what happened _after_, or _before_, but there was nothing, just the blankness she had been living with ever since she woke up in the hospital, except for this one moment – one shining moment of memory.

"We were in a grave, and you and Inuyasha were fighting." _Over the Tessaiga_, her mind added. "And then Inuyasha transformed the Tessaiga and cut off your arm." She winced as she spoke, knowing that if it had been anyone else it would have been irreparable, and even though his arm had grown, it was probably not one of the things he liked to remember. He only nodded, though, and asked, "Anything else?" to which she shook her head.

"Do you want to look some more?" he asked, and she nodded, because who knew what else was there that could spark another forgotten memory. She looked around, and wandered over to another weapon's display – _Why am I attracted only to weapons?_ She asked herself, though she figured she didn't really want to know the answer to that – but this display had no swords. Instead, there was a huge boomerang, as tall as her, and a shakujo, a Buddhist staff with metal rings connected to its head.

This time, when she blinked, she was transported into a green scenery, and she was walking on the road and admiring the view. There was a soft jingle behind her, and she turned to look, and there was a purple robed monk, his staff singing softly as he walked. He was walking next to a woman dressed in a simple kimono, like the ones the village women wore, but the huge boomerang tied to her back told anyone and everyone that she was not a simple village girl. They were talking softly to themselves, when suddenly Miroku's hand came into contact with Sango's backside, and, with a cry of 'hentai!' she slapped him so hard he smashed into a tree, his face sporting a goofy grin that told everyone that it was worth it even as his eyes drifted shut, falling into unconsciousness.

"Baka," she heard from behind her. "Now we have to stop and wait till he recovers. Really, will he never learn?" and the voice was so brazen and yet not entirely uncaring, even if he would have liked to make it so, and she knew it was Inuyasha, but when she turned around to finally get a good look at him, to remember _who_ he was, she was back in the museum, staring at the shakujo and hiraikotsu and wondering how in the name of all that was holy could she forget her friends.

"Sango and Miroku…" she whispered, because she needed the affirmation. And Kiyoshi – no, Sesshoumaru – was standing next to her, looking at her with a question in his eyes, no doubt wanting to ask what had she remembered.

"How did you get these?" she asked him, because she had a feeling that they would not have simply given their weapons to him.

"—A friend had asked me to take them and lend them to the museum as part of this exhibition." He explained, and Kagome did not miss the slight hesitation in the beginning of his words. A name. There was someone else she had forgotten, but, as she had forgotten him, she had no idea who it could be.

Sesshoumaru still had a question in his eyes, and for a minute she wondered how she could have forgotten his _name_, because while Kiyoshi – _quiet_, or _pure_, depending on the kanji – fit him rather well, _the killing perfection_ was who he _was_. Right now, though, it didn't matter what his name was, as he was waiting for an answer.

"Miroku had a habit of groping Sango," she explained with a small smile on her face. "Sango always hit him afterwards, which more likely than not ended in a concussion." She had no memory of it, but she was fairly certain she knew who was the one to treat those concussions. Maybe Kiyoshi—Sesshoumaru— was right, when he said that she had some medical abilities.

The next weapon display she found herself standing in front of held only one weapon: a bow, with a quiver full of arrows. It looked ancient, and used, the handle discolored, darker than the rest, more likely covered with sweat and oil from a hand gripping it tightly in fear. _My hand_, she realized, and blinked at the realization.

She was standing in front of Sesshoumaru, aiming her bow at him, trying to get him to leave Inuyasha alone, because he was wounded and she feared for his safety. And then she fired, and Sesshoumaru caught her arrow midflight between two fingers, dissolving it in a small burst of acid, and she gulped.

and then she was in a different place, near a river, and she was wet, had just got out of the water, and there was a woman thanking her profoundly because she had just saved her son from drowning, but Inuyasha was yelling at her and the crow demon they were chasing was getting away, but he mustn't get away because he stole something _important_, and they needed it back. And Inuyasha was shouting at her to shoot it, only she was a lousy shot, and she only looked like a Miko but she _wasn't_, and she couldn't hit the youkai before so what made him think she could do it now? And then the boy started yelling and she could see that there was a part of the youkai still attached to it, a leg Inuyasha had cut off earlier, so she took it and connected it to her arrow, knowing that the leg would fly straight to the body. And her arrow hit, and there was a strange, purple light, and she wondered what she had done, what was wrong, before she realized that it was the jewel, that she had broken the Jewel of Four Souls into many tiny pieces and now they would have to search for it all over Japan…

"The Shikon no Tama…" she whispered, and she was standing in the museum with Sesshoumaru by her side, looking at her with a worried expression. "I broke it." She told him, and he nodded, though she didn't need affirmation, because she knew it was her. "It was my fault. It was all my fault." And she turned to Sesshoumaru, because he was the only one that _knew_, because he had been there, because Inuyasha was dead, and that was her fault too. And she realized she was crying, and then Sesshoumaru put his arm around her shoulders awkwardly and she leaned on him and cried, cried all her tears away, and she could tell that Sesshoumaru was at a loss, that he didn't know what to do, that he never had a female cry on him like this before, so he simply told her that he will take her home, because she obviously had enough for today.

* * *

A/N:

About the time periods:

The Heian period was between 794-1185, and the Kamakura Period was between 1185-1333. The Morumachi Period was from 1336 till 1573 (the three years between are called the Kenmu Restoration) with Sengoku Jidai (or Sengoku period, as written in Wikipedia) between 1467-1573.

All information was taken from Wikipedia, without which we would all be ignorant, because really, they don't teach such important things in school nowadays.

Or maybe it's just me, but I've done so much extra study for this story in Wikipedia, so I thank its existence every time I sit and write.


	8. Framing the Time

A/N: hey there, it's been a while.

During that time I have been wondering; you see, the last chapter I posted got no reviews at all, and I'm starting to wonder if anyone over there is reading it… this is not a cry for reviews (although it might sound like that) just a simple question: should I keep writing chaptered fics, or should I stick to the one shots which seem to be better appreciated?

Right now, I'm confused… but don't worry, I'm gonna keep posting this story until the end (very soon now, only two more chapters to go). I'm just wondering about the other chaptered fics I've been thinking and planning for when this is finished.

And now that that's off my heart – on with the story!

Disclaimer: nope. I don't own Inuyasha. 

* * *

After dinner, Kagome sat in her room, her notebook open in front of her. She had already finished her homework for the day, and was now busying herself with writing about the day's events. She had written everything she remembered, when suddenly she came to a strange realization; _we were in a _museum_._

Of course they were in a museum, but – as ecstatic as she was at remembering something from her past – she missed the _implications_ that came from being in a museum. A museum, a place where important cultural or _historical_ objects were kept. All those artifacts dated back to _Sengoku Jidai_. And they were the _triggers_ to her memories.

She racked her memories, looking for clues. Sango and Miroku's clothes were her first – as well as Sesshoumaru's – because unless they were all going to a strange cosplay party (which she doubted) they definitely did not belong in this time and age. That was clue number one. The villagers from her last memory were also wearing traditional clothes, and the men had _topknots_. Clue number two. And then there was the Shikon no Tama, which she broke, and when she remembered she knew that they would have to search all over _Japan_ to find it back. The scenes in her memories did _not_ fit in Japan as she knew it.

She paused, flipping the pages in her notebook back to the first page, the one she had written on after Sesshoumaru promised to help her.

_Here and there. But where is there?_ She had written before. _From his questions, probably not somewhere easily accessible. Not a place you can get with a train or a car. Probably not even a plane. But where could it be that cannot be accessible with even a plane?_

And then, right beneath it, _he thought I was dead. Something must have happened to make him think so – what would that be?_

And then it all made terrible sense.

'There' was Sengoku Jidai. It had to be. No wonder Sesshoumaru thought she was dead – no human could live for five hundred years. And today… today he told her that helping her was the most interesting thing he's done the past few hundred years. Well, this was the right piece, the one that fit perfectly both in shape and in picture. She had traveled through time.

But… how?

Kagome looked at her clock. It was a quarter to eight, not too late. She picked up her phone.

* * *

Sesshoumaru looked up from his laptop at the first ring of his cell phone. It was an unknown number, and for a moment, he wondered who would call his private cell so late. For that matter, who would call his private cell, period? There weren't many people who know this number – less than a handful.

"Yes?" he answered at the second ring. There was no point in wondering, and the question will be answered soon enough. If it was one of the morons from work, though, he'll make them regret it.

"Sesshoumaru?"

Ah. That answered it. There were precious few people who knew his real name – even less than the number of those who knew his private cell number. And only one of them was a female.

"Kagome. To what do I owe the pleasure of your call?"

"Erm…" She hesitated. "I have a couple of questions… if it's not too much of a bother, is it ok that we meet?"

"Now?"

"Um, if it's ok with you…"

"Shouldn't you be getting rest before school tomorrow, little miko?"

"It's not so late…" she explained. "And, I don't think I will be able to sleep if I'm left to wonder if I'm right or not."

"Hn. I will be there shortly."

"Thank you, Sesshoumaru! I will be waiting at the usual corner. I'm sorry for bothering you."

"Do not worry about that. I will see you soon."

Sesshoumaru closed his phone, looking at it as if it could tell him what was going on in the miko's head. _What had the perceptive little miko figured out now?_ He thought. He shouldn't be too surprised; she was clever, and good at connecting the dots, but there was also a possibility that she remembered something, or everything, instead of rationally reaching a logical conclusion. He wondered which it was.

Putting on his shoes, Sesshoumaru left his hotel suite, knowing he'd get his answers soon enough.

* * *

Kagome packed her bag hurriedly, thinking about what she would tell her mother should she ask her where she was going. She couldn't tell her that she had figured out that she travelled though _time_, and was going to meet Inuyasha's _brother_ so he could affirm said suspicions.

She didn't need much in her bag – her notebook and a pen, just in case, keys, wallet, her cell phone. She knew it would take Sesshoumaru some time to reach her house – she wasn't sure exactly how much – but she decided she would rather wait for him outside than inside the house. Knowing that her family kept secrets from her made her feel as if the house itself was stifling her.

She practically ran down the stairs, but her mother's voice stopped her when she was near the door.

"Kagome? Where are you going at this hour?"

"I have a problem with my math homework, and Ayumi promised she'd help me with it," Kagome replied while putting on her shoes, not wanting to look at her mother's face, fearing Mama would know she was lying. Her mother didn't know that Kagome had been getting help with her math homework from someone else, didn't know that Kagome didn't _need_ Ayumi's help.

"Can't it wait 'till tomorrow, Kagome?"

"The homework is _for_ tomorrow, Mama!"

"Well, why didn't you ask her today after school? Honestly, Kagome. You spend all your time with your friends, we hardly see you anymore! Even when you're home you lock yourself in your room, and only come out for dinner, at which you're silent. Why can't we talk, like we did when you were younger?"

_Because when I was younger you didn't keep secrets from me,_ Kagome's mind supplied rebelliously. She didn't say anything, though, merely informed her mother that she was leaving.

It didn't take long before she saw Sesshoumaru's car pulling to a stop next to her, and with a "thank you so much for coming," she got inside.

"Don't mention it," Sesshoumaru replied automatically, before asking, "Is there a specific place you want to go to?" she thought for a minute, before giving him directions to the small playground she had re-found merely two days ago.

* * *

"You know, I used to play here a lot when I was a kid." Kagome told Sesshoumaru when they got out of the car. "Here was my kindergarten."

"Hn." He replied noncommittally.

"I came here a couple of nights ago, when I couldn't sleep. This place immediately reminded me memories of my childhood, and I wondered if there was a place like this which would remind me of my memories of the past three years." He was looking at her with a question in his eyes, she saw, probably wondering where she was headed with it.

"There's no such place, is there?" she asked. "Not here. Not _Now._"

"Ah." He replied, sitting himself on a nearby bench and motioning her to do the same.

"Tell me what conclusions you've reached today, Kagome." It was an order, but one that Kagome was only too happy to obey.

"Well, when I got home I started writing all the memories I remembered today, when suddenly I realised that all those memories came while we were in a museum." She paused, and he nodded.

"Please tell me there's another conclusion to be had other than the fact that I travelled in time. I mean, miko and youkai is something I could get used to, if given enough time, but… _time travelling_? That's… impossible."

She looked at him, hoping her eyes conveyed her _need_ that he tell her that there was still _some_ logic in her suddenly illogical world.

"I am sorry to disappoint you, Kagome." He began, and she closed her eyes, suddenly not to happy to have him see her distress. "I have tried to figure you out a very long time ago. This is the only explanation that made sense."

"Since when does _time travelling_ make _sense_?"

"When you look at it on its own, no, it doesn't make sense. But you must understand that five hundred years ago, things were different; the land was ruled by youkai, and 'magic' was not merely a story to explain why things happened."

"Really? And time travelling was also nothing out of the ordinary? How many people have you known to travel in time?" she asked him sarcastically.

"Two."

Kagome blinked. One would be herself, and the other… "Inuyasha…" she whispered, because otherwise her family wouldn't know him, her brother wouldn't have mistaken Sesshoumaru for him, and she would never get to find out about her past. Sesshoumaru nodded.

"Time travelling was not an ordinary thing, even then. But in a world populated by youkai, oni, and objects of power, like the Shikon no Tama – is it that difficult to believe that you could travel in time?"

Kagome nodded, finally accepting his words – even though she really didn't want to.

"How?" she asked him.

"I cannot tell you."

"Why? What does it matter? I know that I travelled in time, I believe what you say. What's the difference if you tell me?" Kagome was getting sick of people not telling her about her past.

"You will remember in time. It shouldn't be too long, as you've already started remembering." Some part inside Kagome was happy at what he said – it won't be long. Another, bigger part, was currently too busy being angry at the fact that _everyone_ seemed to be keeping secrets from her.

"Still! You said you won't tell me because I won't believe. Well, I believe. Why won't you tell me?"

He sighed, and Kagome blinked. For Sesshoumaru to actually show an emotion so visually, even if only exasperation, meant a lot. Usually she could only tell what he was thinking or feeling if she was actively looking for it.

"I had promised your brother I will not tell you."

Kagome blinked. Twice. "What?" she asked in a low voice. It felt like a blow to the stomach.

"When you feinted. He asked me not to tell you anything. I didn't. I merely led you to remember on your own."

"You are with _them_." She realised.

"This Sesshoumaru is _with_ no one." He informed her, and she shivered at the coldness of his voice, her mind telling her that this voice held the promise of death.

Right now, she didn't care too much.

"Yes, you are. You are keeping secrets from me, just like _them_. I am _sick_ of people keeping secrets from me!" she yelled, getting up and taking her bag.

"Where are you going, Miko?"

"Home."

"I'll take you back," he offered.

"No. I can walk."

"Kagome, this is ridiculous—"

"Don't tell me what's ridiculous and what's not!" she cut him off. She could see that he was getting angry, and for a minute she hoped he would get angry enough to kill her with his acid or something like that, because she was sick of feeling betrayed by the people she cared about. She wanted to go back to the old days, back when there were no secrets, but that was impossible, because even though she had once travelled through time she couldn't do it anymore, couldn't because he wouldn't tell her how she did it, even though he _knew_. She figured that death would be better than this feeling of loneliness she had right now. "I said I'm walking home, so I'm walking home!"

With a huff, she turned and started walking back towards her house, when suddenly she bumped into something solid.

"Do not turn your back at me, little miko."

"I'll do whatever the fuck I want, Sesshoumaru! And right now I want to be alone, so why don't you just let me go?"

"I gave my word to Inuyasha that I would protect you," he growled at her. "Even if it means protecting you from yourself."

She wondered if he thought that _this_ of all things would calm her down. What did he expect her to say – 'oh, ok, if you promised _Inuyasha_ than sure, everything is forgiven'? Honestly.

"Well, tough. Think about _this_, Sesshoumaru; you promised Inuyasha you'd protect me, you promised Souta you won't tell me. What about what _I_ want? Doesn't it matter?"

"Of course it matters, Kagome." He answered, obviously trying to placate her.

"Well then, right now _I want to be alone_!"

He blinked, probably realising he fell straight into her trap.

"Very well, Kagome. If you wish it so." He said, but even though his face was as impassive as ever, there was a glint of anger in his eyes. It was obvious he was none too happy at his words. "I will pick you up tomorrow, and we can discuss it like rational people."

"No." Kagome answered angrily, causing him to blink again. "I don't need anymore people who keep secrets from me around me."

She turned around again, and, with her back to him, continued. "Thank you for your help so far," she forced herself to be polite, even though she was so mad she would have osuwari'd him till his back broke, if he was Inuyasha. "I will continue this on my own."

And with that, she walked away, ignoring the tears in her eyes.

* * *

Hope you enjoyed!


	9. After the Storm

A/N: Welcome back to another chapter! I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while, but actually there are two reasons for that. The first is that I'm kinda sad, cause this story is coming to an end (one more chapter to go) the second… I've (finally) gotten enough money to buy my plane tickets to Japan!

I'm going on the 17th of March for three months, so prepare for a three month hiatus… BUT! I promise to post the last chapter before I leave. There's no way I'm going to leave you all hanging there.

With that said… here's the chapter! Hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. 

* * *

Kagome sighed. It's been weeks since that horrible last conversation with Sesshoumaru, and her memories were not coming back. Not really. Oh, she had a few flashbacks – passing through a playground, she remembered the ghost of Mayu chan, the older sister of Souta's friend, Satoru. When she passed near a construction site, she remembered the no-mask, with the Shikon shard imbedded in its forehead. But, while she knew that Inuyasha had been around in both cases, she could not remember _him_.

Her notebook had been filled slowly with many tiny details that she remembered, along with her own presumptions and even things she thought were complete and utter nonsense. The line '_she would have osuwari'd him till his back broke, if he was Inuyasha_' headed that list of nonsense. She knew that it was an important clue, but she had absolutely no idea what it meant.

Her friends were disappointed at her, both for letting 'Taisho Kiyoshi' slip away from her without at least a marriage proposal – they didn't actually say that, but Kagome had known then long enough to know that – but mostly, they were mad at her for not telling them what happened to make him stop coming.

It didn't stop them from telling her all the newest gossip about him, fresh from those magazines they liked so much.

"Taisho's new headquarters in Tokyo had been fully established," Eri informed her today at lunch break. "I guess that means he'll be going back to America soon." Kagome didn't reply, simply kept on fiddling with the food on her plate, glad that – at the very least – tomorrow would be Saturday, so she wouldn't have to go to school and be subjugated to her friend's incredulous stares, when they thought she weren't looking.

Still, what Eri told her _did_ leave an impact. Sesshoumaru will be leaving soon, and with him, the secrets to unlock her memories. She was half afraid she would not be able to remember anything else, on her own. She was so sure of herself, at first, but when it became clear that there were so few triggers left for her memories in her time, she began to lose faith. Maybe she shouldn't have driven him away. But then, he had been keeping secrets from her, just like her family has – because her family asked him to!

_Let him leave,_ she thought bitterly, ignoring the pang in her heart. _And good riddance, too!_

* * *

The following Saturday found Kagome dressed in her shrine's traditional garb, blue hakama and light grey haori, showing visitors around the grounds. There weren't many people, but it felt like whenever she had finished with one, another would show up, demanding a tour. Her grandfather was at the shrine itself, giving out blessings as if they were candies, while her mother was busy with the small memorabilia shop at the exit, selling key chains and magnets and sutras blessed by her grandfather – or, as Kagome liked to call it, a large pile of junk.

"Kagome, there's another visitor asking for a tour!" her grandfather had shouted, and Kagome sighed. She had just finished with an elderly couple who were visiting Tokyo, and while they were both very kind, they also wanted to know everything, making her feel as if she were being tested for her knowledge.

Considering the fact that she had a hole the size of three years of her life in her memories, Kagome felt like she would fail that kind of test – even though the couple was pleased with her answers – but really, if she didn't know enough to tell them that five hundred years ago the miko of this very shrine had shot a sealing arrow at a hanyou who was after the Shikon no tama, sealing him to the Goshinboku, then what good was her knowledge?

Kagome froze, blinking, her mind repeating her previous thought. _The miko of this very shrine had shot a sealing arrow at a hanyou who was after the Shikon no tama, sealing him to the Goshinboku._

Inuyasha.

There was no other option.

And it would also explain the nick in the god tree's bark, the one she had wondered about, the one Sesshoumaru touched the first time he was here, whispering 'foolish hanyou', which she didn't understand at first, but now she knew. Inuyasha.

"Kagome! Stop dawdling!" Her grandfather yelled again, making her blink again, reminding her that there was a visitor waiting for a tour. She sent a longing glance at her bedroom window, where her notebook was stashed, wanting to just drop it all and go write her newest thoughts inside, but she knew she wouldn't. Her family was counting on her, and while all _they_ had done ever since she woke up was disappoint her, she was not willing to do the same.

And so she walked over to where her grandfather was standing with the new visitor, and blinked again. The new visitor was none other than Kiyoshi Taisho, otherwise known as Sesshoumaru.

"I am leaving Japan soon," he told her grandfather. "I wish to visit the shrine before I leave." He explained, and continued. "I was told that there is an ancient tree in this shrine. It is said that this tree is magical. I would like to see it." Kagome blinked. It was practically the exact same words he used when she first saw him – in the modern era, at least. In Sengoku Jidai, his first words were more along the lines of 'Inuyasha, how fitting that you should be dallying with humans.'

And then she blinked again, because while she remembered the _end_ of that first meeting, she did not know its beginning.

Two memories triggered in less than ten minutes. That was a definite improvement over the past couple of weeks, and Kagome had a feeling that it had something – if not everything – to do with _him_.

"Ah! The Goshinboku!" her grandfather exclaimed happily. "Yes, it is here. Kagome will show you the way." Sesshoumaru merely bowed, thanking them both, showing no sign that he _knew_ her, that he had already seen the Goshinboku. Deciding to play the same, Kagome bowed back, and motioned him to follow her.

They didn't pass ten steps before Kiyoshi stopped. "What is that over there?" he asked her, pointing at the small locked shrine on their left.

"That is the shrine housing the Bone Eater's Well." She explained. "It is said that during the Feudal Era, the villagers of Edo used to throw the remains of slain youkai into the well, and the remains would simply… disappear."

She wondered how much of that was true, knowing what she did now. After all, that was the story her grandfather had told her Souta when they were younger, to scare them from going inside, and Jiichan's stories were not always as accurate as he wished them to be. But then, that was before the well house had been locked.

Kagome paused.

The well house being locked was something recent, something of the past – forgotten – three years. She wondered if Sesshoumaru was trying to hint at something, trying to give her another clue. After all, he didn't ask about the well the last time he was here.

"May I see it?" Sesshoumaru asked.

"Um, we'll have to ask my grandfather, as I don't have the key." She explained to him, and he nodded as she turned around to look for Jiichan. He was right behind them, had probably heard the entire conversation, and had a look as if he was in a great conflict.

"It-it's dangerous to go inside!" her grandfather warned. "It is the burial grounds of many a dead youkai!"

Kagome felt like she had hit jackpot. Her grandfather would never say no to an obvious wealthy visitor – he liked the donations left by the visitors enough to encourage them in every way – unless there was something else, stronger, to make him rethink. Something such as incurring her mother's wrath, if she learnt he let Kagome see the well, as it might remind her of her past.

"K-Kagome," Jiichan started, obviously trying to think of ways to show the visitor the well without Kagome being around. Kagome narrowed her eyes at him. "Why don't you go see if your mother needs help in the shop?"

Kagome wondered how she could get out of it – she wanted to see what's inside ever since she got back and realised she _couldn't_ – when, to her surprise, Sesshoumaru presented a solution.

"She stays." He informed her grandfather. "She is, after all, my 'tour guide'."

Jiichan looked completely miserable, and for a minute, she felt sorry for him. But only for a minute.

"I would be more than happy to tell you all about the history of the well—" Jiichan tried again, but Sesshoumaru shook his head.

"You have your own duties to attend to, as you explained to me earlier. I would feel remiss should I detain you from them."

Kagome had to stop herself from gazing at Sesshoumaru in awe and gratitude. Not only had he made sure she would be there while her grandfather opened the well, he also made sure Jiichan _won't_ be there. It was such a subtle, polite dismissal, yet she had no doubt her grandfather caught it. His face looked as if he had eaten something so sour it was eating him from the inside. All he did, though, was sigh, and motion them to move so he could unlock the door.

And then the two of them were inside, her grandfather off to 'attend to his duties', as Sesshoumaru had put it so nicely, and Kagome saw the bone eater's well for the first time since she had woken up in the hospital, and she blinked, only this time she hadn't transported anywhere else, she was in the same place, but Sesshoumaru wasn't there – Souta was. It was the morning of her 15th birthday, and they had gone inside because Buyo was hiding there, and Souta was too much of a coward to go alone, and she laughed at him, because he should be old enough to stop believing in ghost stories, only this time, he had been right to be afraid because Mistress Centipede had resurrected, taking her down the well to an unknown time and place.

Kagome blinked again.

"The well…" she said as soon as she found her voice. "That was my portal, wasn't it?" she asked Sesshoumaru, who simply nodded.

"Thank you," she said, looking at him, feeling that a simple thank you was not enough, so she did the first thing that came to her mind; she hugged him. He seemed surprised, at first, but soon enough she felt his hands settling around her shoulders.

"You're more than welcome, little miko." He whispered to her, and she smiled, despite the demeaning nickname. She found that she didn't mind it so much anymore, anyway.

"I'm sorry for what I said that night, Sesshoumaru." She said, not letting go. He didn't, either.

"It is I who should be apologising, Kagome." He informed her. "I should have realised that it would hurt you."

Kagome blinked. Was he actually apologising? The great and powerful Taiyoukai, apologising to a simple human?

Kagome took a step back, looking at his face. At first glace, it looked as impassive as always, but at a closer look she saw that there was something… softer in his eyes. It made her stomach twist.

"Are you really leaving soon?" she asked, suddenly disappointed at the notion.

"If there is nothing else to keep me here," he answered cryptically, but she had a feeling it had something to do with her.

"Have you regained any more memories?" he asked after a moment of silence.

"A little bit," she answered. "Mostly little, unimportant tidbits; things that happened in this era. I still don't remember what Inuyasha looked like." she finished with a sigh.

"I might be able to help with that." He said slowly. "If you wish it so, of course."

"Really? You would still help me, after all I've said?" He nodded, and Kagome smiled. "Thank you so much!"

Sesshoumaru smiled back, and not just a barely-there smile, but a full one, a noticeable one. "I'll take that as a yes."

She nodded, because of _course_ it was a yes, because she enjoyed spending time with him, even when they weren't trying to reawaken lost memories, and that thought made her pause, because it was so sudden, and she had never really thought about it, but now, now she realised the truth of it, realised that it didn't matter much if she ever fully regained her memories, because she could always live in _his_.

And that thought made her pause, too, because it felt foreign, and it was something she had never felt or thought before, but it was true, too.

"When do you finish with your duties in the shrine?" he asked her.

"Usually somewhere between 5 or 6 in the afternoon," she told him, and he nodded.

"I will come to pick you up at 7, then."

Kagome nodded. "The usual corner?" she asked, and he nodded again. She smiled.

"We should get out of here before my grandfather starts wondering what we are doing in the darkness of the well house for so long." She told him, and he smirked before nodding.

Neither of them made any move towards the door, though.

* * *

Kagome felt happy, happier than she has been for the past few months. She didn't even notice her mother and grandfather arguing, when they thought she didn't hear them.

"How could you let her go inside the well?" Mama's tone was accusing. "You know what will happen if she finds out!"

"How could I not? That man was Taisho Kiyoshi, who could say no to him? And besides, he did leave a nice donation before he left." Jiichan tried to please her angry mother.

"Oh, how nice. So you're saying that if Kagome decided to go back and _dies_, at least we got a nice donation!"

Kagome had never heard Mama angry before, but it was obvious that the way she argued, at the very least, was hereditary. She was amazed that they didn't realise that she could hear them, even though she was in her room, writing in her notebook her realisations of the day.

"Of course not, Mariko. That's not what I said and you know it. Besides, you can't know for sure that seeing the well would awaken her memories."

Kagome was tired of hearing them shout at each other. It was time for her to do something about it, she decided. Leaving her room, she saw Souta huddled in the furthest corner of the house, his hands on his ears. He didn't like hearing them fight anymore than she did. She walked over to him, offering him her hand. He blinked at her, confused.

"You know, don't you?" he didn't need to clarify. She simply nodded as he took her hand, and the two of them – still holding hands – walked down the stairs.

"Well, and you can't know for sure that she won't! I swear, Jiichan, if she remembers—" and here Mama stopped, because Kagome and Souta had just walked in to the kitchen.

"Can you stop shouting at each other? It really makes it hard to concentrate on my homework." She informed them calmly, as if they weren't discussing her past loud enough for all Tokyo to hear.

"Ka-Kagome…" her mother started incredulously. Kagome had to stop herself from laughing.

"Honestly, Mama. I'm not going to go and jump in the well. Relax."

Jiichan and Mama were staring at her, their jaws nearly hitting the floor.

"I have been slowly remembering things from the past for a while now. I would have told you that, if you weren't so set on the fact that I _wouldn't_."

"Kagome…" Mama said once the shock subsided. "I only wanted your best."

This time, it was Kagome's to anger.

"Really? How is it my best to walk around with a hole in my memories?" she asked, her voice getting louder and louder with every word.

"Kagome, you didn't see the way you looked when Inuyasha brought you back the last time – how you both looked." Her mother explained in a low voice, as if to contrast Kagome's angry shouts. "You were covered in blood. We thought you were dead."

Those two short sentences were enough to make Kagome pause. She didn't have memories of what led to her amnesia, but now that her mother mentioned it, and knowing _some _things about her past, it did not surprise her that it was some gory battle or another.

"Oh." She said, because she didn't know what else she could say. And then – "still, you should have trusted my judgment."

And with than, she turned back to her room, off to do her homework until Sesshoumaru would come to pick her up.

* * *

A/N:

This was a hard chapter to begin writing. While all the others practically escaped my mind the minute I touched the keyboard, this one had to be forced out, and every sentence seemed like a struggle. But after a while I found my rhythm, and now I'm really happy with how it turned out. I felt like you deserve to know why the beginning is so crappy.

Until next time!


	10. Lost in His Memories

A/N:

So… here's the promised last chapter. I don't have much more to say other than that.

Hope you like it

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.

* * *

Kagome sighed in relief when she realized it was five minutes to seven. She had been doing her math homework up till now, and while they were not impossibly hard, they weren't fun, either.

Getting ready took no time at all, and soon enough, she was out of her room, only to be stopped by Mama's questions.

"Where are you going, Kagome? Dinner's almost ready."

Kagome paused, the lie – that she was going to see a movie with Eri, Yuka and Ayumi – already on her tongue. But she had already told her mother she remembered the past, would it matter if she told her how? She didn't _really_ have to lie anymore.

Still, it was a habit hard to break. "Off to meet a friend. And I'm not that hungry." She said, deciding on somewhere in between; the lie itself was about her state of hunger. Small lie, really, and she could manage without dinner. She put on her shoes and got out of the house hastily to avoid anymore questions.

Sesshoumaru was already waiting for her at their meeting place, smiling at her as she approached.

"Kagome. I trust you're well?" he asked as she got into the car, and she nodded.

The car ride was mostly silent, Kagome too busy pondering her earlier thoughts about him to bother with a conversation. Those thoughts that whispered to her that she wouldn't really mind if her memories were lost to her forever, as long as he was there and she could be lost in _his_. She had tried ignoring them, until now, busying herself with other things, like she always did when she started thinking about something she didn't really want to think about. Now, however, she had nothing else to busy herself with, and so was left to ponder. She had never felt that way before, that everything would be ok as long as she was with this one person. At least, she didn't remember feeling so. She wondered if it was something gradual which she had skillfully ignored until she couldn't ignore it any longer. After all, that feeling seemed, to her mind, very close to _love_.

She did not want to think about the possible consequences of _that_.

"So…" she started, trying to banish the thoughts lodged in her mind. "Where are we going?"

"There is something," he responded slowly, his eyes trained on the road. "Another artifact, which I did not lend to the museum. I keep it with me when I travel. It's in my hotel room."

Kagome felt her eyes go wide, suddenly glad Sesshoumaru was busy looking at the road ahead. They were going to his hotel room? That was even less than unhelpful for trying to dissuade possible thoughts about _love_ and _Sesshoumaru_. Her stomach twirled a little at that, a small happy dance that ended in a large rumble. Sesshoumaru spared her a glance, then, and she felt herself blushing.

"Sorry," she mumbled. "I haven't eaten since noon."

"Hn." He replied, and she hoped it would be the end of it, but then he added, "Do you want us to stop at a restaurant? Or we could order from the Room Service to save time."

She nodded, still embarrassed. The idea of being in his room for an even longer time made her feel… odd, but she would be lying if she said she wasn't anxious to see that artifact he had mentioned.

"Room Service it is, then." He said. It didn't take them more than ten minutes to reach the hotel.

* * *

Kagome gaped, looking around at the huge room she was in. When Sesshoumaru said hotel _room_, he made her think of the hotel room her family once stayed in when they went on a trip to Kyoto for a week. A small thing that had beds and a small desk and that was it. What Sesshoumaru should have said was hotel _suite_, because there was really no other way to describe the enormity of the place. She should have remembered by then that Sesshoumaru never did anything 'small'. Everything was huge, and expensive.

"Choose your pick," Sesshoumaru told her, handing her the room service menu that was conveniently placed by the phone.

After they had ordered, Sesshoumaru motioned her to sit on the sofa while he brought out a wooden box that had been sitting on the huge desk, next to his laptop. It wasn't big, and she wondered what could be in it._ Maybe letters?_ She thought.

She found out soon enough, when Sesshoumaru took the box and handed it to her as he sat down next to her, telling her to open it. The inside of the box was padded with a red velvety fabric, and on it laid a rosary, made of black round beads and white fang-like ones.

Kagome gasped, and in the distance she could hear the voice of an old woman, telling her to "say the word to subjugate him!" and she looked at the demon she had just released from his sleep, sealed to the Goshinboku, looked at his gold eyes and silver hair, and the triangular furry ears on top of his head, so she said the first word that came to mind…

Kagome blinked, suddenly back at the hotel, still holding the rosary that had been on Inuyasha's neck from that moment on. What was the word she used? She wondered for a second, but not more than a second, because there was really only one option.

"Osuwari," she whispered, and she felt a pull from the necklace, and, surprised, she let it go, watching as it hit the ground with a purple light. And she stared at it, remembering the many Inuyasha-shaped craters she had left all over Japan for the past three years. She smiled sadly at one time in particular, when the rosary was still a new thing for both of them, when she had intentionally pushed him on a bridge, walked back to the grass, and osuwari'd him into the water.

And she blinked, and when she opened her eyes, Inuyasha was carrying her bridal-style.

"Inu…yasha…" she mumbled, and Inuyasha froze, looking down at her.

"Kagome?"

She put her hand on his chest, and he winced.

"Inuyasha, you're hurt!"

"I know."

"Where… Where are we going?"

"You're going home, Kagome."

"But… why?"

"So you won't get hurt like this anymore."

"What about… Naraku?"

"He's dead. And the Shikon no Tama is complete and purified, thanks to you."

"Where is it?"

"In a safe place."

"Inuyasha… what are you not telling me?"

"Kagome, please…" he took another step and winced again. Kagome felt his arms shaking, as if he was carrying something too heavy for him, and she was never heavy to him.

"Inuyasha, please, let me take care of your wounds…"

He smiled sadly. "There's nothing that can be done about them now, Kagome."

"So does this mean…?"

"It doesn't matter as long as you're alive, Kagome."

"You can't die, Inuyasha… I… I need you with me…"

He jumped into the well, and Kagome felt her eyes closing, and she tried to fight it, because otherwise, Inuyasha would die, and she couldn't let that happen.

"This is your time, Kagome." Inuyasha told her when they were surrounded by the time vortex. "This is where you should be. Promise me you'll live a good life. Move on. Study hard for your school thing. Find a husband, have lots of babies."

She had started crying during his short monologue, and wanted to respond, tell him that she didn't _want_ anyone but him as her husband, that she didn't want anyone else's children, that her tests didn't matter that much anyway, not if she could be with him. But she was tired, and her eyes were closing, and her head felt heavy, and she couldn't find any words.

When she opened her eyes again, she was sitting on the sofa next to Sesshoumaru, still crying, and she could see Sesshoumaru looking at her worriedly.

"He told me to move on," she explained. "To live a good life. It's not fair! After we had finally beaten Naraku, and Kikyou was finally resting in peace, he died, without getting to see the fruits of what we had worked so hard to achieve!"

"Naraku?" Sesshoumaru raised his eyebrow at her. "Kikyou?"

"Yeah, you know them." She answered, slightly bewildered by his question. "Naraku, the evil hanyou who was after the jewel, who caused Kikyou and Inuyasha to hate each other… he gave you a human arm and a Shikon jewel so you could use the Tessaiga to kill Inuyasha. And Kikyou, the priestess that sealed Inuyasha to the Goshinboku, and died from the wounds Naraku inflicted on her, only to be resurrected later on by that scary mountain witch, Urasue. I'm her reincarnation."

"I know who you are talking about, Kagome." He said softly. "But – correct me if I'm wrong – none of your memories recovered thus far were about them."

Kagome blinked. Some part of her told her he was right, but another part found it odd. Of course she knew who they were! Finding and killing Naraku had been the main goal in her life for the past three years! And Kikyou had also been a constant then; the first time she saw Inuyasha awake, he thought she was Kikyou, and ever since then she knew he kept comparing between the both of them. Forgetting about Kikyou and Naraku would be like forgetting about her friends – Inuyasha, and Sango, and Miroku, and Shippo…

And here Kagome paused, because she _hadn't_ remembered Shippo until now, hadn't remembered Kikyou or Naraku, even though now it was so obvious she could understand _how_ she had forgotten about them, and she looked at Sesshoumaru in awe, only to see him smirking at her.

"I take it that I am correct in my assumption?" he asked, and she nodded, feeling a huge smile spreading on her face, because for the first time in what seemed like forever, when she tried to think about her past she could actually conjure up images, and voices, instead of the huge blackness. She remembered the demons Naraku sent after them, Kagura, and Kanna, and Goshinki, and Hakudoushi, and that creepy little baby of his. And she remembered those they met along the way, Kouga, and Totosai, and Jinenji, and Shiori. And Kohaku, Sango's little brother, and Kirara, and Hachi, and little Myouga, and Kaede – how could she forget Kaede? That woman was like her own grandmother, and a mentor to boot. She taught Kagome so much about her miko powers and about herbs. She was the one who made Kagome and Inuyasha travel together, the one who tended to their wounds.

"Thank you, Sesshoumaru!" she said, hugging him, still smiling, and she could see a small smile tentatively spreading on his face.

Their food arrived soon after that, and they spent their dinner reminiscing about the past.

* * *

It didn't take long for Kagome's happy, excited little bubble to burst.

Sunday she spent helping her family in the shrine, per usual, only this time she didn't feel resentment towards her mother for keeping the past a secret. In a way, she understood her. And now, with her memories back, she could remember how helpful her mother had always been, always welcoming her with a smile, making sure she had enough food for everyone, and even setting her own bicycle seat so it would fit Kagome's height, as Kagome had taken hers to the feudal era. Kagome figured that seeing her daughter half dead might have been the straw that broke the camel's back for Mama, and now she could understand where her mother was coming from. They had a long conversation that night, talking about the past, a conversation that ended with smiles on both parts. There might have been some bumps on the road, but Kagome felt that now all was well in her little world.

And then came Monday.

She had been so excited about the return of her memories, she couldn't wait for lunch break so she could tell her friends all about it.

Only, when she set her lunch tray on the table and sat down next to the three girls, she realised that her past was not something she could talk about. She remembered the many illnesses her grandfather invented to explain her many absences from school, and the lies she had told her friends instead of telling them that she was travelling through time to Sengoku Jidai, fighting demons on a regular basis. She now knew why lying to them had been relatively easy for her.

_Is this what I've become?_ She thought to herself, suddenly saddened. _A girl who lies to her friends so easily, who lives in a different world than anyone else, so different that I couldn't even talk about it?_

And now, with Inuyasha dead and her quest finished, what kind of person will she be now? Could she ever go back to the normal girl she had been before she fell down the well?

_No_, she thought sadly. _There is no going back anymore. The well has closed – there is no magic there anymore. There is only forward, now_.

Her friends had been chattering between them, their words going over her head, and she realised she didn't really care who was going out with whom, and who had broken up with whom, and all those talks her friends enjoyed so much. Kagome had outgrown that. _Having to fight for your life and your friends' lives tends to do that_, she thought to herself wryly.

It was a depressing thought.

"Kagome chan, are you ok? You've been sighing every few minutes, looking as if you are in a different world then the rest of the universe." That was the ever observant Ayumi, cutting off Kagome's line of thought with the mention of her name. In a way, Kagome felt grateful for the interruption.

"I'm fine, Ayumi chan."

Of course, that didn't fool any of them.

"Kagome chan," Yuka and Eri leaned closer to her. "Are you sad that Kiyoshi san is leaving soon and you won't get the chance to say goodbye?"

"Of-of course not!" she denied. It was definitely not the reason for her constant sighs._ Besides, he said he'd stay as long as there was a reason for him to,_ Kagome thought.

And then she blinked. She had gotten her memory back. The reason for him to stay here was to help her remember. And now that she did… will he leave, now? The only person she felt she could truly be herself with, the only person who knew her, knew who she _really_ was, knew it even when _she_ didn't – and he would leave her now.

"Kagome chan, don't move!" Eri said suddenly, urgently. "There's a huge wasp next to your head!"

_Saimyushou_, Kagome thought immediately, her hand instinctively rushing over to her neck, to where she kept the Shikon shards, to protect them. Only, her hand found nothing, because Naraku was dead and the Shikon was purified and had lodged back inside her body, back in its rightful place. And she turned to look at the wasp – slowly – and it was just an ordinary wasp, because there was no one to control the evil, poisonous ones. _And thank Kami for that_.

She turned back to her meal to find her three friends staring at her in shock.

"Aren't you scared, Kagome chan?" Yuka was practically trembling, as were the other two. None of them could take their eyes from the wasp.

"It's just a wasp, girls. I'm pretty sure it fears us more than we fear it." _Though,_ she added to herself, looking at her friends, who were still staring at her in shock, every once in a while sneaking a glance at the wasp to make sure it didn't move closer, _it's a pretty close competition._

The bell rang soon after that, and the girls hastily left the table.

* * *

"Kagome chan, look who's here!" Ayumi said when school was over, and they were leaving the building to go back home, pointing at the gates.

Kagome's face broke into a huge smile. Sesshoumaru was leaning on his car just in front of the gate, looking as if it was the most normal place for him to be.

"I thought you said you two weren't talking anymore, Kagome chan!" Yuka said, her tone accusing.

"We weren't," she told Yuka, not really caring to tell her friends what had happened over the weekend. There were too many things in that story that she just couldn't explain to them.

"You like him, don't you?" Ayumi asked her with a sly smile.

Kagome blinked. And blushed. "N-no!" she answered, hoping it sounded enough like the truth for them to believe her. Unfortunately, it was an outright lie, and they saw right through it. Kagome didn't mind much that they did, because at that moment, all she could think about was the fact that Sesshoumaru's hearing was _good_, even better than Inuyasha's. She hoped that the rush of so many people leaving the school and talking amongst themselves would make it harder for him to hear this one conversation.

"You do!" Yuka exclaimed.

"We're just friends." Kagome informed the three. The walk to the gate had never seemed longer.

"Say… doesn't he remind you of someone?" Ayumi asked suddenly, tapping her forefinger on her cheek as if it would help her remember. "Not so much in the face as in the colours." She continued, and Kagome blinked. Her friends _had_ met Inuyasha, if just once. She was surprised that they had made the connection – and it _would_ be Ayumi who did it, because the other two usually spent their time ogling boys rather than thinking about anything else. Eri and Yuka were also looking at Ayumi, their brains working to catch up. "He reminds me of—" and here Ayumi stopped, looking at Eri, rubbing the place the other girl's elbow just hit her ribs.

"Why—?" Ayumi started, looking at Eri in question, before realising that the other girl was sending her pointed looks towards Kagome's direction.

"Oh. Um, it's probably nothing, just my imagination working overtime." She mumbled eventually.

Kagome was hard pressed not to laugh outright at her friends' antics. But then, they didn't know she had already recovered her memories, didn't know that the ban of talking about her past had been lifted. Didn't know, because Kagome didn't know how to tell them. With a small shake of her head, she continued walking towards Sesshoumaru. After all, the great and powerful Sesshoumaru sama was not to be kept waiting.

"Kagome." Sesshoumaru greeted her with a nod as the four of them drew near.

"Se—Kiyoshi san," she replied, minding the fact that her three friends were still there, hanging on every word.

Not that there were many words for them to hang on, because after that greeting came a long silence. At least, it seemed long, to Kagome. She was busy trying to think of what to say that would be past-proof for her friends, but she couldn't really think of anything.

"May I offer you a ride home?" Sesshoumaru asked eventually, and Kagome nodded with a smile. Saying good bye to her friends, Kagome sat in the car, waving to them as she waited for Sesshoumaru to do the same.

"So," Kagome started. "Have you really come all this way just to give me a ride home?"

He glanced at her. "I wanted to talk to you."

"I'm glad – I wanted to talk to you too."

"Shall we go somewhere to talk?"

She nodded. "How about that park we went to on the first day?"

"That sounds good," he replied, turning right towards the park instead of continuing straight towards her house.

They were silent for a while, and, surprisingly, it was Sesshoumaru who started talking first.

"Have you told your family yet?"

"Yeah."

"Are you still mad at them?"

"No," she replied with a smile. "Now that I know what happened, I can actually understand my mother. I don't agree with her methods, but at least I understand where she was coming from."

"What about your friends? Have you told them?"

"My friends…" she sighed. "They didn't know much of anything to begin with. There is nothing to tell them."

"Why didn't they know?"

"Come on, Sesshoumaru. I travelled in _time_. They would never have believed me if I told them."

"Hn."

"Say, Sesshoumaru…" she started after a while. "Was Shippo the friend who had given you the Shakujo and the Hiraikotsu to put in the museum?" She really couldn't think of any other option.

"Yes, it was he."

"Where is he now?" _And why didn't he come to see me? _She added silently.

"He's in France."

"Oh."

They arrived at the park soon after that, sitting on the grass in the shade of one of the many trees in the area.

They sat down in silence, Kagome fidgeting with the hem on her skirt, trying to stall the inevitable conversation. The thought of Sesshoumaru leaving was not one she liked to entertain.

However, Kagome had never been one to be able to sit in silence for long, especially if she had something on her mind.

"So," she started, her eyes carefully placed on a bunch of grass near her legs. She started pulling at it, her hands leaving her skirt to bother something else. "You said you wanted to talk to me?"

"Hn." He replied, and she decided to take it as a 'yes'. "You said you wanted to talk to me as well."

Kagome sighed. She had a feeling Sesshoumaru was not going to begin the conversation anytime soon. _Maybe he's also stalling_, she thought to herself, and had to stop herself from snorting. Sesshoumaru stalling? As if.

In any case, he dropped the ball back on her, which meant that she was going to have to go first. Or wait till he decided to talk, which might take forever, and then some. With another sigh, she decided to go for it. She hated the silence. "Will you be leaving soon, now that my memories are back?" She asked him, her hands still busy plucking innocent stalks of grass from the ground, then tear them apart to tiny, tiny pieces.

"That is what I've wanted to discuss with you, as a matter of fact." Sesshoumaru had replied slowly, and Kagome raised her head and looked at him, for the first time since they had sat down, her hands suddenly still as if unable to move.

"What do you mean?" She asked, feeling her heart leap to her throat, because if he wanted to talk to her about him leaving, there might still be a way for her to make him stay here, with her.

"Do you remember the question you asked me when I took you to the museum?" He asked her, and she felt her eyebrows twitching, because it was not what she expected him to say.

"When I asked you why you were helping me, right?" she replied, looking at his face for hints as to where he was headed with this change of topic. He nodded.

"Do you remember my answer?"

"You said that helping me was the most fun you've had in a while." She replied with a slight shrug, still confused as to the relevance of this new topic to the old one.

He nodded again. "This answer – while truthful – was not the whole truth." He explained, and Kagome felt her heart, still lodged in her throat, start beating madly.

"The truth is…" he paused, as if taking the time to word himself just right, and Kagome felt herself holding her breath, as if her entire existence depended on his next words. He wasn't even looking at her, his eyes staring at the distance, reminiscing the past. "You had sparked my curiosity, ever since I first saw you at my brother's side. You pulled out the Tessaiga, and survived my acid – feats I thought impossible. But it wasn't just your actions – it was your behavior, your kindness. You didn't make sense. I thought of you as a puzzle to be solved."

Kagome blinked, too scared to talk, feeling that if she did, he would not say any more. It was obvious by the way he talked that it was not something easy for him to say, and knowing him, knowing who he had been, she didn't doubt it was so; Sesshoumaru never seemed to her like one who would talk about his feelings and thoughts so easily. Some part of her felt cherished that he chose to share even that small bit of himself with her.

"Over time, when I saw you more and more, you became something else. I didn't know how to describe you anymore. I kept telling myself it was just because I was curious about you and your origins, tried to deny that there was something more. When you disappeared," he continued, "I thought you were dead. I considered it as a failure that I didn't manage to solve the puzzle that you were before you died. I dislike failures."

Kagome had to smirk at the last sentence. It was such a Sesshoumaru-ish thing to say.

"I told myself that the regret that I felt was because of that failure." He went on. "When you asked me for help, I agreed, telling myself that I could now finally solve the puzzle. Being around you was, as I told you, the most interesting – or fun, as you had put it – thing I did in a while. But it wasn't because of the puzzle. It was because I was near you."

He stopped, looking at her, and Kagome had the feeling that he was waiting for a reaction of some sort from her, but she didn't know what to say, how to reply, was too afraid to talk anyway, afraid she might say the wrong thing, afraid she might do something that would scare him away. But she couldn't help the slow smile that had spread on her face, couldn't stop it, didn't want to stop it, because now she knew that if she could just find the right words, he _would _stay with her.

Apparently, that smile has been enough for him, or else he simply knew that getting a spoken reaction from her might be too much to ask, because, once again, he was the one to break the silence.

"I've told you before, I will leave only if I have no reason to stay. The question is – will you be that reason?"

And Kagome felt her smile growing wide, and her breath that she had been holding ever since he had started talking had escaped her lungs with great relief, and she nodded, informing him that yes, she will be the reason, but a nod wasn't enough, it needed the confirmation.

"Yes." She said, still smiling, and threw her arms around him, hugging him with all her strength, knowing that if it was up to her, she would never let him go.

But a few seconds later, she could feel him draw away, so she released her hold on him, not wanting to make him feel uncomfortable, because she had a feeling that even after 500 years, Sesshoumaru had not change so much to become used to contact with other people. But he didn't draw back all the way, just far enough that he could look at her face, and before she could think anything else, he leaned back in, and this time, it wasn't for a hug.

Kagome felt her heart, still beating madly, return to its rightful place in her chest, and then Sesshoumaru deepened the kiss, and that was the end of all coherent thought.

* * *

A/N:

Well. This is kinda sad. I knew this day would have to come, but it always makes me sad when a story I've worked so much on and practically lived in, at least for a while, ends… but at least it's a happy ending with lots of fluff.

So, I hope you enjoyed reading this story!

I might post a one shot or two before I leave for Japan, but I can't promise anything. However, I have another chaptered fic I'm working on and hopefully I'll start posting it when I get back, so stay tuned!


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